Spot gold hits record high $976.75 as dollar falls

TOKYO, March 3 (Reuters) - Spot gold <XAU=> rose to a record high of $976.75 an ounce on Monday as falls in the dollar and the strength of oil prices prompted fund buying.

Gold surpassed the previous record high of $975.90 reached on Friday.

By 2325 GMT, gold was trading at $974.60/975.40 compared with $973.30/973.75 in late U.S. levels on Friday. (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo)