SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - Gold slipped on Thursday as investors booked profits after the metal rallied to a 6-½ week high the previous day, but an increase in ETF holdings highlighted bullion's growing safe haven appeal. A firmer euro could also lend support, with markets less worried about the debt crisis in Greece that had undermined the single currency. Gold priced in euro and sterling was within sight of their record highs. Spot gold XAU= was at $1,137.58 an ounce by 0228 GMT, down $1.77 from New York's national close. Bullion hit an intraday high around $1,144 on Wednesday following Greece's new measures to reduce its deficit. Bullion, which hovered about 5 percent below a lifetime high around $1,200 struck in December, could challenge a January high around $1,150 if the euro sustained the uptrend, dealers said. "Given this relative strength in the euro, people will be looking for dips to get back in. We've seen recently as well, the ETFs have been buying again," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia. "The general momentum is still there for it to push higher, having broken through $1,140 overnight. The funds have taken that as an opportunity to invest some more. They feel confident about the direction of gold," said Heathcote, referring to a rise in ETF holdings. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD: Quote), said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes as of March 3, up from 1,111.556 tonnes in the previous business day. U.S. gold futures for April delivery GCJ0 fell $4.8 an ounce to $1,138.50 an ounce, having hit 6-½ week highs on Wednesday. Gold has traditionally been used as a safe haven in times of economic and political uncertainty as the metal's intrinsic value is not dependent on any paper currency. The euro inched up to $1.3707 in early Asian trade, from $1.3700 late on Wednesday in New York. If the euro sustains its move past $1.3700, the next target would be around $1.3825, the 23.6 percent of its December to March fall on the Fibonacci charts, dealers said. [USD/] Greece announced plans for a further $6.5 billion in pay cuts and tax hikes to reduce its deficit, easing worries about the country's debt crisis. Dealers in Hong Kong noted sales of scrap from jewellery makers after Wednesday's rally, while some investors were on the sidelines ahead of the release U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday, which could set the tone for currencies. "I think we see a combination of profit taking and sales from the physical market. Gold has approached $1,150 but there's some resistance there," a dealer in Hong Kong said. "There could be some pressure on gold until we see the nonfarm data. We don't know yet how the dollar should react to the data," he added. U.S. crude futures stood little changed near $81 a barrel on Thursday after a 1.5 percent rise a day earlier on a weaker dollar. [O/R] (Editing by Himani Sarkar) © Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved

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