Gold little changed near 11-month high, 0 eyed

TOKYO, Apr 19 (Reuters) Gold was steady near an 11-month high on Thursday as traders were reluctant to take large buy positions after seeing the metal struggle to advance beyond the psychologically important level of $700 an ounce this week.

-- As of 0027 GMT, spot gold was trading at $690.30/690.80 an ounce, slightly up from $689.20/689.70 late in New York on Wednesday.

-- Spot gold has been blocked at the resistance of around $690-$691 since the start of the week.

-- Bullish technicals have prompted solid buying from investment funds since the start of the second quarter, lifting the spot price by more than 5 percent since April.

-- The dollar's weakness against the euro and bullish energy prices have also encouraged funds to buy gold.

-- On charts, gold is supported at the 7-day moving average around $685.

-- Cash platinum advanced to the highest in almost five months, supported by expectations of robust investment demand on the back of a planned launch of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

-- A rally in platinum was boosted by the news that Switzerland's Zurich Cantonal Bank was planning to launch ETFs on platinum, palladium and silver from May 10.

-- Platinum rose to $1,294/1,299 an ounce from $1,290/1,295 in New York on Wednesday.

-- Palladium advanced to $380/385 an ounce from $376/381 in New York.

-- Silver was little changed at $13.99/14.02 an ounce from $13.98/14.01 late in New York.

Reuters HK VP0622