Gold rebounds in slow trade; focus on oil

SINGAPORE, Mar 13 (Reuters) Gold firmed on Tuesday to track a slight rebound in crude oil, lifting some other precious metals.

-- Spot gold rose to 0.50/651.50 an ounce from 7.00/647.75 late in New York on Monday, when it dropped nearly due to falling crude oil prices.

-- Benchmark gold futures for February delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 13 yen per gram to 2,490 yen, reflecting losses in New York's COMEX market.

-- U.S. crude oil futures rose above a barrel on Tuesday after hitting a near-three week low a day earlier amid forecasts for warmer weather in the United States and expectations OPEC will not cut output at its meeting this week.

-- The dollar steadied at 117.73 against the yen, while the euro hardly changed at .3185.

-- Silver edged up to .98/13.03 an ounce from .97/13.02 late in New York.

-- Platinum eased to ,200/1,205 an ounce from ,205/1,210.

-- Palladium rose to 0/355 an ounce from 9/354 late in New York.

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