Futures dip ahead of data, Fed eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on Tuesday ahead of data on producer price inflation, with traders positioning for a Federal Reserve meeting expected to provide clues on the short term direction of U.S. interest rates.

* The Labor Department's producer price index, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT, is expected to have risen 0.1 percent in August, the same as in July.

* Later Tuesday, the Fed will begin a two-day policy meeting. A statement and forecasts will be released Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. EDT followed by a press conference half an hour later.

* U.S.-traded AstraZeneca shares fell 1.7 percent in premarket trading after it signed a partnership deal with U.S. rival Eli Lilly that could earn the British company up to $500 million if an experimental Alzheimer?s drug proves successful.

* United Airlines and union officials said eligible flight attendants will be paid up to $100,000 in a voluntary buyout, in a deal that aims to end furloughs at the over-staffed airline.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum)