PRECIOUS-Gold falls from 6-1/2-week high, ETF holdings up

* Gold down after hitting 6-1/2-week high

* ETF holdings extend gains, gold could hit January high

* Coming Up: Weekly U.S. jobless claims, 1330 GMT (Updates prices)

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, March 4 (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 steadier 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. <XAUEUR=R> <XAUGBP=R>

Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,134.85 an ounce by 0640 GMT, down $4.50 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>, said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes as of March 3, up from 1,111.556 tonnes in the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]

U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> fell $7.9 an ounce to $1,135.40 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 <EUR=> was steady on Thursday ahead of a European Central Bank meeting and supported after investors encouraged by Greece's fresh austerity measures cut some of their record short positions in the single currency. [USD/]

Greece announced plans for a further $6.5 billion in pay cuts and tax hikes on Wednesday to reduce its deficit, easing worries about its debt crisis and helping the 10-year Greece-Germany spread narrow to its lowest point since mid-February.

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. non-farm 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 non-farm data. We don't know yet how the dollar should react to the data," he added.

Oil slipped on Thursday as the dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies, but was still trading near seven-week highs of around $81 per barrel as U.S. demand edged up with a recovering economy. [O/R] Precious metals prices at 0640 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1134.85 -4.50 -0.39 3.57 Spot Silver 17.08 -0.09 -0.52 1.49 Spot Platinum 1566.00 -9.50 -0.60 6.75 Spot Palladium 445.50 -1.00 -0.22 9.86 TOCOM Gold 3232.00 -19.00 -0.58 -0.83 47577 TOCOM Platinum 4435.00 -51.00 -1.14 1.23 15290 TOCOM Silver 49.00 -0.10 -0.20 -5.22 1161 TOCOM Palladium 1255.00 -6.00 -0.48 7.73 441 Euro/Dollar 1.3662 Dollar/Yen 88.23 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Himani Sarkar)