SINGAPORE, Feb 12 Gold jumped above $ 668 an ounce on Monday to its highest in seven mont

SINGAPORE, Feb 12 (Reuters) Gold jumped above $668 an ounce on Monday to its highest in seven months on continued fund buying, but gains may be capped because of weaker oil prices and a market holiday in key player Japan.

-- Spot gold hit an intraday high of $668.20 an ounce, its best since mid-July, and was at $667.70/666.40 by 0047 GMT, steady from $666.50/667.20 late in New York on Friday.

-- U.S. crude oil fell on Monday as tensions with Iran eased, and on market comments by the Saudi oil minister, but prices held above $59 a barrel as a cold snap in the United States was forecast to continue through the week. It reached a session peak of $60.80 on Friday, the highest level since Jan. 3 during intraday activity.

-- Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently December 2007, ended 37 yen per gram higher at 2,594 yen on Friday.

-- Silver was at $13.84/13.89 an ounce, unchanged from late New York levels.

-- Platinum rose to $1,195/1,200 an ounce from $1,194/1,200. Palladium dipped to $334/339 from $337/342 an ounce.

REUTERS DKS BST0642