Gold rises on weaker dollar, watches oil

SINGAPORE, Apr 26 (Reuters) Gold firmed on Thursday on the back of a weaker US dollar while recent gains in crude oil also supported the metal. Investec Australia pegged support at $680 an ounce and resistance at $700.

-- Spot gold rose to $685.10/685.60 an ounce from $684.50/685.00 late in New York on Wednesday.

-- The new benchmark gold futures contract for April delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 9 yen per gram to 2,642 yen ($22.26).

-- U.S. crude futures were little changed on Thursday after Wednesday's gains of more than a dollar with political issues related to key oil producers Iran and Nigeria lending support to the market.

-- The dollar was within sight of its record low against the euro as it struggled in the wake of mixed U.S. data that did little to allay market concerns about a slowdown in the U.S. economy.

-- The euro was at $1.3636 , steady from late U.S.

trading on Wednesday, when it had climbed as high as $1.3667 -- just shy of the currency's all-time peak at $1.3670.

-- Silver edged up to $13.81/13.86 an ounce from $13.78/13.83 late in New York.

-- Platinum rose to $1,304/1,309 an ounce from $1,298/1,303 an ounce.

-- Palladium dropped to $377/382 an ounce from $378/383 late in New York.

REUTERS DKS BST0717