SINGAPORE, Feb 9 Gold rose above $ 660 an ounce on Friday but struggled to hold the gains

SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) Gold rose above $660 an ounce on Friday but struggled to hold the gains as dealers turned their attention to a Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting later in the day.

-- Spot gold hit an intraday high of $661.30 an ounce, its highest since Feb. 1, mainly due to rises in Tokyo futures, before slipping to $658.40/659.10 by 0052 GMT.

-- The metal was last quoted at $659.40/660.10 in New York on Thursday, when it gained around 1 percent because of a weaker dollar and firmer crude oil .

-- Dealers said gold would have to crack $660 and close above that level to reach new highs around $670 and $680, with the help of either a weaker dollar or firmer oil.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently December 2007, added 28 yen per gram to 2,585 yen to track gains in New York's COMEX market and also because of a weak yen.

-- The dollar rose to 121.15 yen , inching up towards a four-year high of 122.20 yen hit last week.The market was sitting tight for the statement that will follow the two-day G7 gathering, which starts in Essen, Germany, later in the day.Any currency moves could impact prices of the yellow metal.

-- Silver inched down to $13.72/13.77 an ounce from $13.75/13.80 late in New York.

-- Platinum rose to $1,189/1,194 an ounce from $1,187/1,192 an ounce. Palladium rose to $339/344 from $336/341 an ounce.

REUTERS DKS BST0655