(Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed on Thursday, hovering below a three-month high hit in the previous session when bullion rallied 1 percent on technical buying, while high oil prices also lent support.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold inched down $1.60 to $1,774.19 an ounce by 0013 GMT, off a three-month high of $1,781.40. It pierced through a key resistance level at $1,765 on Wednesday.

* U.S. gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,776, retracing from a three-month high of $1,783.4 hit on Wednesday.

* Gold diverged from the recent pattern of moving in tandem with riskier assets, rallying 1 percent on Wednesday while the global stock market eased on growth concerns after weak data from the euro zone and China.

* High oil prices helped buoy the sentiment in gold. Brent rose to a nine-month high on Wednesday on heightened tensions between the West and Iran, after U.N. inspectors sent to visit the country's nuclear installations declared their mission a failure.

* Spot platinum was little changed at $1,719.49 an ounce, just below a five-month high of $1,725.25 hit in the previous session during which prices surged on chart breakthrough and supply concerns.

* Impala Platinum (IMPJ.J), the world's second-largest platinum producer, has warned customers that its April platinum deliveries would be down about 50 percent due to labour problems at its Rustenburg mine.

* Easing inflation and a revival in stock markets could dent gold imports by India, the world's biggest consumer, pushing shipments down by about 35 percent in value terms in 2012/13, a government panel said on Wednesday.

MARKET NEWS

* Banks led U.S. stocks lower on Wednesday as the S&P 500 stalled near a 10-month-high after signs of weak European business activity rekindled concerns about a recession overseas.

* The yen nursed losses in Asia on Thursday, having plumbed a 7-month low against the greenback, while sterling also struggled after minutes of the Bank of England February policy meeting were more dovish than expected.

Editor: Marisssa Wei

E-mail: marissawei1331@hotmail.com