PHOTO
Gold bars are displayed at South Africa's Rand Refinery in Germiston May 30, 2006. Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters
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)