Gold steadies after sell-off, silver rebounds

SINGAPORE, Dec 19 (Reuters) Gold held around New York levels on Tuesday as selling subsided and dealers continued to watch the currency market for direction.

-- Spot gold was at $615.70/617.20 an ounce, hardly changed from $615.30/616.80 an ounce late in New York on Monday, when it fell to a Nov. 1 low at $611.30.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 5 yen per gram to 2,362 yen.

-- Gold selling was sparked by the dollar's rise on Monday.

The dollar gained against most major currencies as traders scrambled to square books amid decreasing trading volumes as the year comes to a close.

-- The euro was flat at $1.3099 .

-- Silver edged up to $12.54/12.61 an ounce from $12.42/13.49 an ounce in New York. The metal had tumbled to $12.27 an ounce on Monday -- its lowest since Nov. 1.

-- Platinum rose to $1,100/1,105 an ounce from $1,102/1,110 an ounce.

-- Palladium gained slightly to $321/326 an ounce from $320/326.

REUTERS PKS BST0658