Gold rebounds after sell-off, Tokyo extends losses

SINGAPORE, May 18 (Reuters) Gold rose on Friday on bargain hunting but was within sight of its lowest level in nearly two months hit the previous day, while Tokyo futures extended losses.

-- Spot gold gained to $658.70/659.40 an ounce from $657.30/658.80 late in New York on Thursday, when it dropped to as low as $653.40 an ounce -- its lowest since March 20.

-- Key April 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 11 yen per gram to 2,597 yen.

-- Selling from liquidation in bullion exchange-traded funds and chart-based sales sent U.S. gold futures to a lower finish for a second straight day on Thursday.

-- StreeTRACKS gold shares , the world's largest gold ETFs, accounting for more than 80 percent of the metal held by all such funds, dropped 8 tonnes of its bullion in one day on Wednesday.

For details on ETFs, double click on -- The euro was steady at $1.3494 .

-- Platinum rose to $1,308/1,310 an ounce from $1,300/1,305 in New York.

-- Palladium rose to $358/363 an ounce from $356/360.

-- Silver edged up to $12.84/12.87 an ounce from $12.81/12.86 late in New York on Thursday, when it tumbled to its lowest in two months at $12.68 an ounce.

Precious metals prices at 0037 GMT Last Net Change Pct Move Turnover (lots) TOCOM Gold 2596.00 -12.00 -0.46 9904 TOCOM Platinum 5012.00 -5.00 -0.10 4750 TOCOM Silver 501.70 1.60 +0.32 271 TOCOM Palladium 1425.00 1.60 +1.21 113 Spot Gold 658.70 Spot Platinum 1308.00 Spot Silver 12.84 Spot Palladium 358.00 Change so far in 2007 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move TOCOM Gold 2596.00 2445.00 +6.18 TOCOM Platinum 5012.00 4254.00 +17.82 TOCOM Silver 501.70 493.30 +1.70 TOCOM Palladium 1425.00 1255.00 +13.55 Spot Gold 658.70 636.10 +3.55 Spot Platinum 1308.00 1132.00 +15.55 Spot Silver 12.84 12.85 -0.08 Spot Palladium 358.00 332.00 +7.83 Euro/Dollar $1.3495 Dollar/Yen 121.28 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, spot prices in $ per ounce.

REUTERS SRS VP0620