PRECIOUS-Gold inches up, off 1-month low; ECB meet eyed

SINGAPORE, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Thursday,
pulling away from a one-month low hit in the previous session
when a weaker price forecast from Goldman Sachs triggered a
sell-off, while investors await a European Central Bank meeting
for clues on future policy path.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold inched up 0.1 percent to $1,695.36 an
ounce by 0040 GMT, hovering above a one-month low of $1,684.40
hit in the previous session.
* U.S. gold was little changed at $1,692.20.
* Gold's current price cycle will likely turn next year as a
rise in real interest rates on the back of improved growth
offsets any further balance sheet expansion from the Federal
Reserve, Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday. Goldman cut its three,
six and 12-month forecasts for gold prices.
* The European Central Bank may give a guide to next year's
policy path when it delivers fresh forecasts for the euro zone
economy on Thursday at a meeting where it is expected to leave
interest rates low.
* Spain auctioned fewer bonds than it hoped to on Wednesday,
prompting markets to ditch the country's debt as investors fret
over the timing of an expected aid request by the government.

* U.S. private sector hiring took a heavy hit in November
due to the impact of storm Sandy that ravaged consumers and
businesses in the north east, but the huge service sector
continued to expand albeit at a modest pace.
* Republicans and Democrats dug in on "fiscal cliff" talks
on Wednesday, with both sides urging quick action but offering
no compromises in a political stare-down that shows no signs of
breaking.
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MARKET NEWS
* A volatile trading session ended with U.S. stocks mostly
higher on Wednesday, even as Apple, the most valuable company in
the United States, suffered its worst day of losses in almost
four years.
* The euro held its ground in early Asian trade on Thursday
after slipping from a seven-week high against the dollar in the
previous session, as investors awaited the European Central Bank
policy meeting.

DATA/EVENTS
1000 Euro zone Revised Q3 GDP
1100 Germany Industrial orders Oct
1200 Britain Bank of England rate decision
1245 Euro zone ECB rate decision
1330 Euro zone ECB news conference
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims

PRICES
Precious metals prices 0040 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1695.36 1.95 +0.12 8.41
Spot Silver 32.93 0.09 +0.27 18.92
Spot Platinum 1580.24 4.24 +0.27 13.44
Spot Palladium 683.47 0.97 +0.14 4.75
COMEX GOLD DEC2 1692.20 -1.60 -0.09 8.00 2776
COMEX SILVER MAR3 33.01 0.05 +0.15 18.23 453
Euro/Dollar 1.3074
Dollar/Yen 82.36
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)