Gold prices were flat in early Asian trading on Tuesday as markets await U.S. inflation data that could offer more clarity on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold held its ground at $1,948.09 per ounce, as of 0118 GMT. U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% higher to $1,952.30.

* U.S. consumer prices index (CPI) data will be released on Tuesday. Wall Street economists expect the headline U.S. CPI to have slowed to a 0.1% rise in October, from a 0.4% increase in September, according to a Reuters poll.

* The core inflation number is expected at 0.3% last month, unchanged from September. Also on the radar, the U.S. producer price index data due on Wednesday.

* U.S. Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, last week said they are still not sure interest rates are high enough to finish the battle with inflation.

* The market is pricing in an 86% chance that the Fed will leave rates unchanged in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* The expected path for inflation softened on balance in October amid rising expectations for future gasoline price hikes and a largely stable outlook for employment and personal finances, the Fed Bank of New York reported on Monday.

* Meanwhile, COMEX gold speculators lowered their net long position by 1,107 contracts to 105,236 in week ended Nov. 7, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Monday.

* Spot silver rose 0.4% to $22.38 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.5% to $868.49. Palladium climbed about 1% to $990.81 per ounce.

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)