* Merkel's support of Draghi eases worry on euro zone debt crisis * Spot platinum hits highest since July 10 * Spot gold neutral in $1,589.69-$1,626.06/oz -technicals * Coming up: U.S. CFTC commitment of traders, weekly; 1930 GMT (Adds details; updates prices) By Rujun Shen SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Gold extended on Friday gains from the previous session, when it rose the most in two weeks on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for more action by the European Central Bank to fight the bloc's debt crisis. Investors have been waiting for bolder moves by the ECB after President Mario Draghi said last month the bank would do everything in its power to hold the euro zone together, although a subsequent ECB meeting yielded few concrete measures. Merkel's support for Draghi injected confidence into the market and raised hopes that European leaders may eventually come up with a solution to the crisis, now in its third year, spurring investors to buy riskier assets. Gold's fate largely hinges on central bank attitudes towards further monetary easing, especially as physical demand slumped globally, led by top consumers India and China. "The market is still moving on changing expectations of central bank actions, and is so far unwilling to push prices out of the $1,590 to $1,630 range," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore. The seesawing pattern is likely to extend to at least the end of August, when comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Fed symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming may shed light on the central bank's next easing move, he added. Spot gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,617.66 an ounce by 0703 GMT but was on course for a weekly loss of 0.1 percent despite posting in the previous session its biggest one-day gain in two weeks. This is gold's third session of gains. The U.S. gold futures contract for December delivery was little changed at $1,620. Recent U.S. data continued to show a mixed picture of the economy. A trend measure of Americans signing up for new jobless benefits fell close to a four-year low last week, but weakness in a regional factory gauge showed the U.S. recovery still faces an uphill climb. GOLD-PLATINUM PREMIUM SHRINKS Gold's premium to platinum fell to below $172 an ounce, its lowest in nearly a month, after platinum prices jumped after clashes in Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in South Africa. Spot platinum hit $1,447, its highest since July 7, after rising more than 3 percent in the previous session. The metal, mainly used to produce jewellery and autocatalysts, was headed for a weekly rise of 3 percent, the most in two months. In industry news, Barrick Gold Corp, the world's top gold miner, is in talks to sell all or part of its stake in its African arm to China Gold Group Corp, China's top gold producer. Precious metals prices 0703 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1617.66 3.36 +0.21 3.44 Spot Silver 28.26 0.08 +0.28 2.06 Spot Platinum 1444.99 10.49 +0.73 3.73 Spot Palladium 586.06 6.86 +1.18 -10.18 COMEX GOLD DEC2 1620.00 0.80 +0.05 3.40 9442 COMEX SILVER SEP2 28.21 0.00 -0.01 1.06 2358 Euro/Dollar 1.2367 Dollar/Yen 79.38 COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

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