SINGAPORE, Feb 1 Gold extended gains on Thursday after the U.S. dollar fell against other

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) Gold extended gains on Thursday after the U.S. dollar fell against other currencies in New York and the U.S.

Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected.

-- Spot gold rose to $653.80/654.80 an ounce from $652.10/653.10 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it gained around 1 percent.

-- Investec Australia pegged support at $650 and resistance at $655 an ounce.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently December 2007, rose 31 yen per gram to 2,567 yen, reflecting rises in New York's COMEX market.

-- Analysts said a report saying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could shore up its finances by selling a small part of its gold reserve should have little immediate impact on the gold market as it is uncertain whether the proposal will be approved. Selling up to 400 tonnes of the gold held by the IMF would help to place its finances on a sustainable footing, according to the report, by a panel of eminent officials released on Wednesday. [ID:nN31118647] -- The dollar was little changed at 120.70 yen , slipping further from a four-year high of 122.20 yen hit on Monday. The euro was at $1.3024 , compared with $1.3033 late in U.S. trade.

-- The Fed said it held benchmark interest rates steady and maintained a warning on inflation risks. [ID:nN31460116] -- Looking ahead, investors were awaiting the release of other key U.S. economic data this week, including the monthly Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index on Thursday and January employment data on Friday.

-- Silver edged up to $13.53/13.58 an ounce from $13.48/13.55 late in New York.

-- Platinum rose to $1,179/1,184 an ounce from $1,175/1,180 an ounce. Palladium rose to $337/342 an ounce from $336/341 an ounce.

Reuters SBA VP0658