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SINGAPORE, Sep 5 (Reuters) Silver flirted with $13 an ounce on Tuesday, having risen to its highest level in more than three months in London on speculative buying.

Gold was firmer, while platinum rose to its highest in nearly two months at $1,260 an ounce because of gains in Japanese futures and steady demand from auto makers and jewellers in China and Japan, said dealers.

Silver basked in the glow of bullish investor sentiment as gold struggled to break free from its current range amid declines in crude oil prices and a lack of leads from the geopolitical front.

Silver started trading at $12.95 an ounce in Asia before edging up to $13.01/13.06 by 0440 GMT. That was slightly lower than $13.03/13.10 late in London on Monday, when it hit a high of $13.05.

The U.S. market reopens later in the day after a Labor Day holiday.

''If the funds keep buying at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised to see it sort of touching $13.50, probably in the next week or so,'' said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney.

''It's certainly having a bit of a run. Whether or not it's sustainable, it certainly wasn't last time,'' he said.

Silver has rebounded more than 30 percent since falling to a four-month low of $9.38 an ounce in mid-June, but the metal is still some way off a 25-year peak of $15.17 hit in May.

''The daily charts show the current levels are toppish. herefore, the best thing to do is to wait for a breakout, then you can go with the flow,'' said a dealer in Singapore, referring to a possible correction.

Silver's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) stood at 70.49 on Monday, up from 45.85 on Aug. 28. The market views an RSI of 30 or less as oversold and 70 or more as overbought.

Spot gold was buoyed by gains in silver and hit a two-week high of $629 an ounce, but dealers said its failure to breach a key resistance of $635 and $636 an ounce disappointed investors.

Gold was last quoted at $626.30/627.30 an ounce in London.

''I think the fundamentals have changed quite a bit. The oil price eased back and that took away some of the momentum as did of course this quietening down in the geopolitical arena,'' said Heathcote.

''I think $636 is going to be a tough resistance for it. I am still of the opinion we might see $600 before long,'' he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday called for a peaceful end to Iran's nuclear standoff, though he said Tehran had insisted it would not halt uranium enrichment before any talks.

Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently August 2007, fell 8 yen per gram to 2,369 yen ($20.43) as a holiday in the U.S. deprived it of direction.

A stronger yen ahead of a Bank of Japan policy meeting later in the week also put pressure on the futures market.

The dollar was quoted around 115.80 yen, down around 0.2 percent for the day after hitting a two-week low of around 115.75 yen.

In other precious metals, platinum was quoted at $1,258/1,263 an ounce, having risen to as high as $1,260 -- its highest since July 12. The metal was quoted at $1,245/1,250 late in London.

Yukuji Sonoda, a precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo, said jewellery makers in China and Japan had begun to buy platinum ahead of the holiday season later this year.

''Prices have stayed at a reasonable level nowadays. That is a good support for the autumn demand,'' he said.

Demand normally picks up in China, the world's largest of platinum jewellery, in October during the National Day holiday and the Moon Cake Festival.

Palladium rose to $343/348 an ounce from $342/347 late in London.

Precious Metals Prices by 0444 GMT* Metal Last Net change Pct Move Gold 627.90 1.90 +0.30 Platinum 1258.00 11.00 +0.88 Palladium 343.00 1.00 +0.29 Silver 13.01 0.10 +0.77 Change so far in 2006 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move Gold 627.90 517.20 +21.40 Platinum 1258.00 968.00 +29.96 Palladium 343.00 254.00 +35.04 Silver 13.01 8.81 +47.67 * The closing prices used to calculate the net change may differ from New York's last quoted prices.

($1=115.98 yen) REUTERS CS DB1221