Gold rebounds ahead of Fed meeting, platinum falls

SINGAPORE, May 9 (Reuters) Gold was firmer on Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may offer clues to the direction of the dollar and precious metals.

-- Spot gold rose to $685.00/685.50 an ounce from $684.30/685.80 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, when it dropped more than $4 because of a stronger dollar.

-- The benchmark gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently April 2008, fell 4 yen per gram to 2,672 to reflect losses in New York's COMEX market.

-- The dollar drifted sideways against major currencies on Wednesday as market players looked to see whether the Fed would signal concern about weaker U.S. growth that could be a precursor to an interest rate cut.

-- The Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 5.25 percent, and many analysts believe the central bank will emphasise in its post-meeting statement that worries about inflation pressures outweigh the economy's housing-led slowdown.

-- The euro was flat at $1.3540 , holding off the lifetime high of $1.3683 hit in late April.

-- Platinum dropped to $1,331/1,336 an ounce from $1,333/1,338 late in New York on Tuesday, when it jumped to its highest since late November at $1,340.

-- Palladium rose to 371/376 an ounce from $370/374 an ounce.

-- Silver edged down to $13.44/13.48 an ounce from $13.48/13.51.

Precious metals prices at 0018 GMT Last Net Change Pct Move Turnover (lots) TOCOM Gold 2667.00 -9.00 -0.34 9234 TOCOM Platinum 4997.00 9.00 +0.18 4830 TOCOM Silver 521.10 -2.40 -0.46 354 TOCOM Palladium 1465.00 -2.40 -0.61 116 Spot Gold 684.70 Spot Platinum 1330.00 Spot Silver 13.44 Spot Palladium 371.00 Change so far in 2007 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move TOCOM Gold 2667.00 2445.00 +9.08 TOCOM Platinum 4997.00 4254.00 +17.47 TOCOM Silver 521.10 493.30 +5.64 TOCOM Palladium 1465.00 1255.00 +16.73 Spot Gold 684.70 636.10 +7.64 Spot Platinum 1330.00 1132.00 +17.49 Spot Silver 13.44 12.85 +4.59 Spot Palladium 371.00 332.00 +11.75 Euro/Dollar $1.3535 Dollar/Yen 119.88 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, spot prices in $ per ounce.

Reuters JK SBA VP0602