Tokyo precious metals surge, spot gold bullish

TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) Tokyo precious metals prices surged on Monday as Japanese investors bought back actively after returning from a four-day holiday, while cash gold was bullish near its two-week high, boosted by a weaker dollar.

-- At 0056 GMT, spot gold was trading at $688.65/689.15 an ounce, up from $687.60/688.10 late in New York on Friday.

-- Gold prices rallied to a two-week high on Friday as the dollar fell after weak U.S. jobs data raised speculation of a rate cut, which boosted sentiment in the precious metals market.

-- On Friday, gold hit the session peak of $690.65, which was the highest since April 24.

-- Benchmark April platinum futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange surged by the daily 100-yen limit to a record high of 4,987 yen ($41.51) per gram on Monday on active technical buying following rises in the cash price.

-- Japanese precious metals prices jumped across the board, with the key April TOCOM gold contract rising by the daily 60-yen limit to 2,682 yen a gram as investors bought heavily after returning from a four-day holiday.

-- The weakness of the dollar against the euro would keep cash precious metals bullish.

-- The U.S. currency fell on Friday after a report showed that U.S. payrolls growth for April was the lowest since November 2004 and weaker than economists' expectations.

-- The U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday, May 9, and a cut could weaken the dollar further against other major currencies.

-- A lower U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated metals cheaper for investors in other currencies.

-- Platinum rose to $1,337/1,342 an ounce from $1,321/1,326 in New York on Friday.

-- Palladium edged up to $375/380 an ounce from $373/378 in New York.

-- Silver rose to $13.48/13.51 an ounce from $13.41/13.46 late in New York.

Precious metals prices at 0056 GMT Last Net Change Pct Move Turnover (lots) TOCOM Gold 2682.00 60.00 +2.29 31607 TOCOM Platinum 4987.00 100.00 +2.05 12340 TOCOM Silver 522.50 10.00 +1.95 1061 TOCOM Palladium 1481.00 10.00 +2.00 758 Spot Gold 688.65 Spot Platinum 1337.00 Spot Silver 13.48 Spot Palladium 375.00 Change so far in 2007 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move TOCOM Gold 2682.00 2445.00 +9.69 TOCOM Platinum 4987.00 4254.00 +17.23 TOCOM Silver 522.50 493.30 +5.92 TOCOM Palladium 1481.00 1255.00 +18.01 Spot Gold 688.65 636.10 +8.26 Spot Platinum 1337.00 1132.00 +18.11 Spot Silver 13.48 12.85 +4.90 Spot Palladium 375.00 332.00 +12.95 Euro/Dollar $1.3604 Dollar/Yen 120.04 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, spot prices in $ per ounce.

($1=120.13 yen) Reuters ABM DB0745