Gold inches up, but nervous approaching 0/oz

TOKYO, Apr 18 (Reuters) Gold edged up on Wednesday on light bargain hunting following falls in New York the previous day, but traders were nervous about buying strongly near the psychological level of $700 an ounce.

-- As of 0016 GMT, spot gold was trading at $687.30/688.05 an ounce, up from $686.70/687.20 late in New York on Tuesday. It surged to an 11-month high of $691 on Monday.

-- On Tuesday in New York, gold ended slightly lower on profit taking and weaker energy prices.

-- But investment funds were keen to challenge $700 due to a weaker dollar outlook.

-- Weakness in Japanese gold futures in early trade weighed on the spot price.

-- Platinum was up at $1,269/1,274 an ounce, from $1,264/1,268 in late New York.

-- Palladium was little moved at $373.00/378.00 an ounce from $373.50/377.50.

-- Switzerland's Zurich Cantonal Bank said it planned to launch exchange-traded funds based on platinum, palladium and silver from next month. [ID:nL1623759] -- But the world's biggest platinum producer Angloplat said it will not supply physical metal to the fund because it would sharpen supply shortages. [ID:nL17428879] -- Silver rose to $13.93/13.96 an ounce from $13.91/13.94 late in New York.

Reuters HK VP0610