SINGAPORE, Jan 11: Gold steadied on Thursday after losing around $ 2 in New York because of a firm

SINGAPORE, Jan 11: Gold steadied on Thursday after losing around $2 in New York because of a firm dollar and weakness in crude oil . Key support was pegged around $600 an ounce.

-- Spot gold hit a high of $611.30 an ounce and was at $610.50/611.50 an ounce by 0040 GMT, steady from $610.80/611.80 late in New York on Wednesday.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently December 2007, added 2 yen per gram to 2,374.

-- The euro was hardly changed at $1.2945 . The dollar rallied in New York after a report showing the U.S.

trade gap narrowed in November for the third month in a row, which made an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve early in 2007 seem less likely.

-- Silver rose to $12.36/12.40 an ounce from $12.32/12.39 an ounce.

-- Platinum fell to $1,132/1,137 an ounce from $1,146/1,150.

-- Palladium rose to $328/333 an ounce from $327/332.

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