The following are New York midsession prices and market updates for precious metals and copper: GOLD * Gold for February delivery fell $6.90 to $813.80 an ounce at 11:45 a.m. EST (1645 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. * The range spanned $829.90 to $807, a one-month low. * Gold price was pressured by weak jewelry demand, especially in India and Europe - dealers. * Bullion held up despite the dollar's strength, but gold's firmness will not last if dollar sustains its rally - dealers. * Some investors opted to sell gold for cash due to stock market weakness, as the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled nearly 3 percent. [USD/] * Spot gold was at $813.70 an ounce, down 0.9 percent compared with the last trade on Tuesday. * London afternoon gold fix was set at $821.50 an ounce. SILVER * March slipped 18.0 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $10.500 an ounce on broad-based commodity weakness. * The range was $10.335 to $10.890. * Spot silver was quoted at $10.48 an ounce, down 2.2 percent from its previous session close. * Silver was fixed in London at $10.77 an ounce. PLATINUM * NYMEX April platinum fell $17.50, or 1.8 percent, to $938.50 an ounce on expected weakness from U.S. automakers. * Gloomy outlook for 2009 car sales at the Detroit auto show helped depress PGM prices - analyst. * Spot platinum was quoted at $930.00 an ounce, 1.2 percent lower than its last finish. PALLADIUM * NYMEX March palladium falls $4.25, or 2.3 percent, to $181.00 an ounce, tracking platinum's weakness. * Spot palladium was quoted at $179.00 an ounce, 1.7 percent lower compared with its previous close on Tuesday. COPPER * COMEX copper for March delivery down 6.60 cents, or 4.3 percent, at $1.4810 a lb. * The session range $1.4510 to $1.5450. * Copper under renewed selling pressure from concerns about weakened end-user consumption due to a slowing global economy - analysts. * Copper's bearish momentum picked up after data showed sales at U.S. retailers fell 2.7 percent in December. [ID:nSP382905] * London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks surged 7,300 tonnes on Wednesday to a five-year high at 382,150 tonnes. * COMEX copper stocks rose by 43 short tons to 35,300 short tons as of Tuesday. * Chilean copper miner Antofagasta Plc will close its small Lince open pit mine because it is not viable due to falling metal prices. [ID:nLE193215] * London Metal Exchange copper for three months delivery fell to a session low at $3,205 a tonne, before rebounding to last trade at $3,300 from $3,370 on Tuesday.

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