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SINGAPORE, Sept 1 (Reuters) Silver matched a three-month high on Friday on the back of investment demand, while gold rose ahead of the release of U.S. August jobs data.

-- Silver hit a high of $12.89 an ounce, matching a three-month high hit on Thursday, before retreating to $12.88/12.95 an ounce, up from 12/83/12.90 late in New York.

-- Silver has outperformed gold in recent weeks, helped by robust demand for a U.S. silver exchange-traded fund. The metal shot up to a 25-year high above $15 an ounce in mid-May.

-- Spot gold rose to $627.00/628.00 an ounce from $625.20/626.20 late in New York.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently August 2007, gained 29 yen per gram to 2,392 yen, reflecting rises in New York.

-- The U.S. non-farm payrolls report for August is due at 1230 GMT and is expected to show employers added 120,000 jobs on the month, suggesting modest but steady growth that would likely keep the Fed comfortable leaving rates at 5.25 percent.

-- The dollar changed hands at 117.40 yen after having reached 117.50 on Thursday, the strongest since late July.

-- The dollar stood at $1.2810 and has been stuck in a tight range between $1.2940 and $1.2695 for the past month.

-- Platinum rose to $1,241/1,246 from $1,239/1,244 an ounce.

-- Palladium hardly changed at $341/346 an ounce.

Precious Metals Prices by 0053 GMT* Metal Last Net change Pct Move Gold 627.00 2.00 +0.32 Platinum 1241.00 2.00 +0.16 Palladium 341.00 -0.50 -0.15 Silver 12.88 0.01 +0.08 Change so far in 2006 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move Gold 627.00 517.20 +21.23 Platinum 1241.00 968.00 +28.20 Palladium 341.00 254.00 +34.25 Silver 12.88 8.81 +46.20 * The closing prices used to calculate the net change may differ from New York's last quoted prices.

Reuters SRS VP0630