TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) Gold fell on Thursday as the dollar rose against the euro, with weakness in

TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) Gold fell on Thursday as the dollar rose against the euro, with weakness in global equities prices making investors nervous about building up fresh buy positions.

The precious metals market so far showed little reaction to a powerful earthquake in Peru that killed at least 15 people and injured more than 200 as homes collapsed. Traders were keen to know if there had been any impact at Newmont Mining's Yanacocha, Latin America's biggest gold mine.

By 0300 GMT, spot gold was trading at $666.60/667.20 an ounce, down from $668.80/669.40 late in New York on Wednesday.

''Selling pressure is more dominant as the market is more closely watching equities and currencies than the earthquake,'' said a trader at a Japanese trading house.

''Gold could be supported if the supplies from the mine in Peru were disrupted, but even if that happens I think the impact to the market could be limited,'' he said.

Near-term sentiment for gold was weak, but it was expected to be supported by safe-haven demand and seasonal demand, with many Asian players such as from India expected to enter the market should it fall towards $650-$660 an ounce, traders said.

''The market is very nervous now and many are taking a wait-and-see attitude as gold is pressured above $670 by the dollar's strength against the euro,'' said Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo.

The spot price hovered around the 100-day moving average of $666.81, with major technical support seen at the 200-day average of $654.31.

The dollar's strength against the euro is expected to weigh on gold, traders said.

The euro fell as far as $1.3399 , the lowest level since June, in early Asian trade on electronic platform EBS.

However, jewellers were keen to buy on price dips as they usually start building up their inventories from around this time of the year to prepare for the Christmas season, traders said.

The World Gold Council said on Wednesday global gold demand in the second quarter jumped 19 percent year-on-year to 922 tonnes, as less volatile prices spurred jewellery buying in India and around the world. [ID:nN14435875] Tokyo precious metals futures fell due to the yen's rise and sharp falls in Japanese share prices.

Benchmark June 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the morning session down 4 yen at 2,524 yen per gram, having ended 37 yen or 1.4 percent lower at 2,528 yen on Wednesday.

The yen hit a near five-month high against the dollar and the euro as sharp falls in U.S. stocks and persistent worries about credit sector problems prompted investors to abandon risky positions that have been funded with yen borrowing.

The dollar was at 116.40 yen after touching a five-month low of 116.25 yen on EBS.

Platinum fell to $1,258/1,263 an ounce from $1,261/1,268 late in New York on Wednesday, when it tumbled to $1,253.50 an ounce -- its lowest since late May.

Key June TOCOM platinum fell 29 yen or 0.6 percent to 4,699 yen a gram.

TOCOM platinum fell as low as 4,697 yen, matching the low reached on April 6. The key contact has fallen more than 4 percent in the last week.

Silver dropped to $12.46/12.49 an ounce from $12.54/12.59 in New York. It had dropped to its lowest in nearly seven weeks at $12.32 an ounce on Wednesday.

Palladium inched down to $344/349 an ounce from $345.50/349.50 late in New York on Wednesday, when it slumped to $342 an ounce -- its lowest level since early March.

REUTERS RJ HT0942