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SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) Gold gained on Wednesday as the dollar tumbled to a record low against the euro, but dealers are cautious ahead of a testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Silver and platinum also rose. Tokyo gold futures rebounded to track a firm cash market, while the newly launched ''mini'' gold contracts saw a decline in turnover.

Spot gold hit an intraday high of $668.90 an ounce, not far from last week's five-week high of $669.05, partly driven by buying interest from Japanese investors.

Gold later dipped to $668.50/669.10, higher than $664.60/665.40 late in New York on Tuesday.

''I think there has been a little bit of improvement in investor interest in gold. I certainly think the weakening in the U.S. dollar has been a factor in that,'' said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

''Depending on what happens to the U.S. dollar, it would be possible for gold to move in above $670 an ounce in the near term,'' said Moore, who pegged the downside at $660.

Dealers said the recent inflow into exchange-traded funds suggested that investors had slowly regained confidence in gold.

Data showed bullion held by StreetTRACKS rose to 487.92 tonnes from 469.91 tonnes last Wednesday. StreetTRACKS Gold Shares , the No. 1 gold ETF.

Any signs of concerns from Bernanke about problems in the subprime mortgage market when he delivers his semi-annual testimony on monetary policy on Wednesday and Thursday may prompt more selling in the dollar and lift gold's appeal as an alternative investment, said dealers.

UK-based precious metals consultancy GFMS said on Tuesday that gold will next year revisit the record high of $850 hit in 1980 as investor interest soars on a weaker U.S. dollar and lower interest rates.

The dollar slipped to 121.73 yen from around 122.20 yen in late U.S. trading on Tuesday.

The euro hit a record peak of $1.3834 on electronic trading platform EBS on concerns about the U.S. mortgage market after Bear Stearns said two of its hedge funds that bet heavily on subprime loans now had little value.

Dealers also await data on June consumer prices and figures on housing starts and building permits.

The most active June 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended up 12 yen per gram at 2,646 yen, having dropped 20 yen at the close on Tuesday.

The most active December contract on TOCOM ''mini'' gold futures contract also gained 12 yen per gram to 2,634 yen.

Turnover totalled 3,047 lots, down from 22,258 lots at the close on Tuesday, when the contract was launched.

''We just have to wait and see whether mini gold will consistently attract participants. But there's a bit of buying interest from Japanese investors in the cash market,'' said a dealer in Hong Kong.

TOCOM's mini gold contract's trading unit is 100 grams a lot, one-tenth the size of the existing gold futures contract.

''Retail investors do not dare to buy at the current high levels,'' said a commodity brokerage analyst in Tokyo, explaining the drop in turnover.

''Also, not so many brokers are willing to promote the product as they get smaller rewards,'' he said.

A TOCOM spokesman said only 17 brokerages have upgraded their computer systems to accept customer orders for the mini gold contract. There are a total 54 brokerage firms allowed to trade for their customers in gold trading.

Platinum rose to $1,312/1,316 an ounce from $1,307/1,311 late in New York. Palladium dipped to $364/368 an ounce from $365/369 an ounce.

Silver rose to $13.00/13.05 an ounce from $12.91/12.96 an ounce.

Precious metals prices at 0639 GMT Last Net Change Pct Move Turnover (lots) TOCOM Gold 2646.00 12.00 +0.46 53875 TOCOM Platinum 5101.00 26.00 +0.51 25009 TOCOM Silver 511.50 1.60 +0.31 1164 TOCOM Palladium 1460.00 -3.00 -0.21 806 Spot Gold 668.90 Spot Platinum 1312.00 Spot Silver 13.00 Spot Palladium 364.00 Change so far in 2007 Metal Latest bid End prev year Pct Move TOCOM Gold 2646.00 2445.00 +8.22 TOCOM Platinum 5101.00 4254.00 +19.91 TOCOM Silver 511.50 493.30 +3.69 TOCOM Palladium 1460.00 1255.00 +16.33 Spot Gold 668.90 636.10 +5.16 Spot Platinum 1312.00 1132.00 +15.90 Spot Silver 13.00 12.85 +1.17 Spot Palladium 364.00 332.00 +9.64 Euro/Dollar $1.3816 Dollar/Yen 121.62 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams spot prices in $ per ounce.

REUTERS KR PM1611