The following are New York midsession prices and market updates for precious metals and copper: GOLD * Gold for June delivery down $13.20, or 1.5 percent, at $880.30 an ounce at 11:51 a.m. EDT (1651 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. * Range from $877.60 to $895.00. * Gold breaks below $880 an ounce amid technical pressure stemming from Wednesday's benign inflationary outlook - dealers. * On Wednesday, government data showed U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in March, recording their first 12-month drop since 1955. [ID:nN15491736] * Gold expected to trade in a mixed direction, seesawing between its ability to weather equity market strength and pressure from weak physical and investment demand - Tom Pawlicki, precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global. * COMEX estimated 11 a.m. electronic futures volume at 44,624 lots. Floor volume not available due to a technical problem. * Spot gold last traded at $879.00/$880.50 an ounce. * The London afternoon gold fix was quoted down $8.50 at $880.50 an ounce. SILVER * COMEX May silver off 54.0 cents, or 4.2 percent, at $12.26 an ounce, tracking the decline in gold. * Range between $12.18 and $12.80. * COMEX estimated 11 a.m. electronic futures volume at 7,067 lots. Floor volume is not available due to a technical problem. * Spot silver was at $12.25/$12.32 * The London silver fix down 28.5 cents at $12.65 an ounce. PLATINUM * NYMEX July platinum slips $12.20 to $1,212.80 an ounce as investors take profits after sharp gains early this week. * Platinum group metals are used in catalytic converters to clean exhaust fumes for vehicles. * Spot platinum at $1,207.00/$1,215.00 an ounce. PALLADIUM * June palladium down $2.50 at $236.00 an ounce. * Spot palladium was at $233.50/$236.50 an ounce. COPPER * Benchmark COMEX copper for May delivery down 4.85 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $2.1505 a lb. * Session range from $2.1440 to $2.2330. * On Tuesday, benchmark May copper hit $2.2350, its highest level since Oct. 15. * COMEX estimated electronic futures volumes at 11,302 lots by 10 a.m. * Investor profit-taking weighs on COMEX copper values, with weakness in equities and soft economic data from China and U.S. housing sector adding pressure to the decline - brokers. * March housing starts fell 10.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 units, the second lowest on record dating back to 1959, from February's downwardly revised 572,000 units - The Commerce Department. * New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, dropped 9 percent to a record low 513,000 units, from 564,000 units in February. [ID:nN16455] * China's economic growth slowed to 6.1 percent in the first quarter from 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter -- slightly missing economists' 6.3 percent forecast and marking the weakest expansion since quarterly records began in 1992. [ID:nSP421707] * London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse stocks dropped 5,200 tonnes to 475,200 tonnes, down about 10 percent since the middle of February. * Canceled warrants -- stock already tagged for delivery -- rose to 66,275 tonnes on Wednesday from 57,525 the previous day. * LME copper for three-months delivery ended down $90 at $4,729 a tonne.

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