Gold prices edges down, euro zone worry resurfaces

FUNDAMENTALS

* Gold fell $1.65 an ounce to $1,726.09 bu 0033 GMT, down from a 3-week high around $1,738 struck on Friday.

* U.S. gold futures for December slipped $4.50 to $1,726.40 an ounce.

* Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, dropped 0.07 percent on Friday from Thursday, while those of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust rose 0.45 percent during the same period.

* Greece's international lenders agreed on Monday to give the country two more years to make the cuts demanded of it but the euro zone and IMF clashed over a longer-term target date to shrink the country's debt.

MARKET NEWS

* The euro hovered near two-month low against the dollar on Tuesday after the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund failed to agree on a long-term plan to reduce Greece's debt, preventing disbursement of immediate aid to Athens.

* Japan's Nikkei share average edged up in early Tuesday trade after falling for six straight sessions, but gains may be limited on concerns about a U.S. fiscal policy standoff that threatens to push the country into recession.

* U.S. crude futures fell for a second session on Tuesday to trade above $85 a barrel, pressured by worries about the U.S. recovery being thrown into

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