PRECIOUS-Gold eases, focus on U.S. fiscal talks

SINGAPORE, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Wednesday after
last minute talks to prevent the United States from plunging
into recession went off course, turning investors away.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell $3.65 an ounce to $1,670.89 by 0022
GMT. Gold ended up around 7 percent in 2012 - the 12th straight
year of gains for the precious metal which makes it one of the
longest bull runs ever for a commodity.
* U.S. gold for February eased $3.90 an ounce to
$1,671.90.
* House Republicans complained that a bill passed by the
Senate in a late-night show of unity to prevent a budget crisis
contained tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans but no spending
cuts.
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MARKET NEWS
* Markets were eerily quiet in Asia as trade resumed on
Wednesday with investors anxiously waiting to see if the U.S.
Congress could strike a last-minute deal to avoid triggering tax
rises and spending cuts that could threaten the global economy.

* U.S. crude futures edged down toward $91 on Wednesday amid
fiscal worries about the United States - the world's largest
economy and top oil consumer.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0500 India HSBC Markit Mfg PMI Dec 2012
0843 Italy Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI Dec 2012
0853 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI Dec 2012
0858 EZ Markit Mfg PMI Dec 2012
1245 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
1500 U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI
1500 U.S. Construction spending mm Nov

PRICES

Precious metals prices 0022 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1670.89 -3.65 -0.22 6.85
Spot Silver 30.30 0.02 +0.07 9.43
Spot Platinum 1532.75 -2.25 -0.15 10.03
Spot Palladium 695.72 3.72 +0.54 6.62
COMEX GOLD FEB3 1671.90 -3.90 -0.23 6.71 1367
COMEX SILVER MAR3 30.34 0.11 +0.37 8.69 435
Euro/Dollar 1.3194
Dollar/Yen 86.62

(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)