By Jan Harvey LONDON (Reuters) - Gold edged higher in Europe on Thursday as the weaker dollar supported prices, with trading muted by the onset of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. Bullion prices were unaffected by a spate of deadly attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, despite gold's reputation as a haven from geopolitical risk. Spot gold was quoted at $813.20/815.20 an ounce at 9:42 a.m. EST, little changed from $811.75 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday. The dollar weakened against the euro on Thursday, rolling back some of the previous session's gains, as worse-than-expected U.S. economic reports renewed fears over the prospect of a deepening global recession. A softer dollar tends to benefit gold, which is often bought as a currency hedge. "If you think the U.S. dollar has peaked, gold's outlook is good," said Citi analyst David Thurtell. However, weakness in gold's other main external driver, crude oil, is weighing on prices. Oil fell toward $53 a barrel after U.S. stocks and oil demand data released on Wednesday increased worries over falling consumption. The bullion market largely shrugged off news of the violence in Mumbai, where more than 100 people have been killed and many more remain trapped by gunmen. "You would expect that this could have (affected) gold but there wasn't any buying or selling on the news," said Deutsche Bank trader Michael Blumenroth. OPEC MEETS However, some support may come from a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Cairo on Saturday. Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said OPEC may agree to cut production at the talks. "With all eyes on OPEC's extraordinary meeting on Saturday, nobody wants to sell oil in case OPEC cuts production," Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet said. "However, despite this threat, we believe crude will still head down into year-end," he added. "Precious metals should expect little support from crude oil." Investor demand for bullion-backed exchange-traded funds remains firm, with the world's largest gold ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, reporting an inflow of just over 3 tonnes or half a percent on Nov 26. Spot platinum inched up to $855/865 an ounce from $853.50 in New York late on Wednesday as the weaker dollar lent support, while palladium slipped to $186.50/194.50 an ounce from $189.50. Both metals are suffering from a perception that demand from auto manufacturers is likely to remain lackluster. Carmakers, who use the metals to make catalytic converters, account for around half global platinum and palladium demand. "Futures in Tokyo have fallen due to speculation of further falling automotive sales, with local producer Mazda stopping production for two days in December," said Fairfax analyst John Meyer. "Similar action is likely to be taking place at other auto manufacturers around the world, although the cost of stopping car production lines is extremely high," he added. Among other precious metals, spot silver was at $10.22/10.30 an ounce against $10.29. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by Anthony Barker)

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