SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) Gold dipped on Friday as profit taking kicked in after a rally the prev

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) Gold dipped on Friday as profit taking kicked in after a rally the previous day, but investors were reluctant to take new positions ahead of the release of U.S.

payrolls report.

-- Spot gold fell to $693.35/693.85 an ounce from $695.70/696.30 an ounce late in New York on Thursday, when it rallied to its highest in 16 months at $697.70 an ounce on strong physical demand, technical buying and firm energy prices.

-- The benchmark August 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 34 yen per gram at 2,599 yen.

-- The dollar hovered near a one-month low against a basket of major currencies on Friday as investors looked to the jobs report later in the day for signs that the housing crisis is hurting the broader labour market.

-- Investors are looking for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points later this month and possibly more from the current 5.25 percent to shelter the economy from the turmoil in credit and money markets.

-- The dollar eased from late U.S. trade to 115.30 yen, while the euro hardly moved at $1.3686.

-- Platinum rose to $1,285/1,290 an ounce from $1,284.50/1,291.50 late in New York on Thursday, when it rose to a four-week high of $1,286.50 an ounce.

-- Palladium was steady at $333/338 an ounce.

-- Silverinched down to $12.37/12.40 ounce from $12.42/12.45 an ounce. It had rallied to $12.52 an ounce on Thursday, its highest since Aug. 16.

Precious metals prices at 0100 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 693.35 -1.75 -0.25 9.07 Spot Silver 12.37 0.00 +0.00 -3.74 Spot Platinum 1285.00 1.60 +0.12 13.52 Spot Palladium 333.00 -1.75 -0.52 0.30 TOCOM Gold 2598.00 33.00 +1.29 6.26 34039 TOCOM Platinum 4742.00 33.00 +0.70 11.47 8798 TOCOM Silver 461.70 5.30 +1.16 -6.41 255 TOCOM Palladium 1265.00 11.00 +0.88 0.80 91 Euro/Dollar 1.3682 Dollar/Yen 115.37 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.

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