Gold prices held early on Wednesday near a seven-week high struck in the previous session, as downbeat U.S. data weakened the prospect of the Federal Reserve pursuing an aggressive rate hike stance.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,268.00 per ounce at 0109 GMT. It hit $1,273.97 in the previous session, the highest since June 14. 

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,274.10 per ounce.

* The U.S. dollar briefly touched a 15-month low on Tuesday on political turmoil in Washington and weak U.S. economic data that kept the Federal Reserve's policy outlook uncertain.

* Asian stocks paused near decade-highs on Wednesday as investors waited to see if strong earnings results from tech bellwether Apple would ripple out to component makers in the region.

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