PRECIOUS-Gold slips from record; ETF holdings lowest since May

* Gold may retrace to $1,440-technicals [ID:nL3E7F7060]

* Coming Up: ECB rate decision; 1145 GMT

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, April 7 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower to hover below a record on Thursday ahead of an expected euro zone interest rate hike, while ETF holdings dropped to their lowest in almost a year as investors shifted some of their money into other markets.

Despite selling in the physical market, bullion was still supported by inflation concerns driven by the deadly unrest in Libya and the Middle East as well as soaring food prices. Silver barely moved after hitting a 31-year peak on Wednesday.

Spot gold eased $2.31 to $1,454.69 an ounce by 0607 GMT, after striking a record of $1,461.91 on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar lipped to a 14-month low against the euro.

Gold is far below its all-time inflation-adjusted high, estimated at almost $2,500 an ounce set in 1980 as a result of heightened geopolitical pressure and hyper inflation.

"Moms and dads are moving out, out of gold and into the equities. But our expectations for gold moving higher has more to do with nflationary concerns, I think, particularly in China," said Jonathan Barratt, anaging director of Commodity Broking Services.

"Market is looking at not just oil, it's looking at food and I think that's mportant, particularly when corn reached a record high. Expectations are that foodstuff will continue to rise."

Spot silver hardly changed at $39.30 an ounce, within sight of a 31-year peak of $39.75 struck on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank is poised to raise interest rates from a record low 1.0 percent on Thursday and more is likely to follow but, fearful of heaping more pain on the euro zone's stragglers, it will give few clues about when the next move will come. [ID:nLDE7351QH]

The euro was down a quarter point on the day at $1.4297 , having risen to $1.4350, its highest since late January 2010, on Wednesday, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei average closed up 0.1 percent at 9,590.93.

In the grains market, Chicago corn futures edged up to near record highs as thin U.S. stocks and expectations of firm Chinese demand helped purge early losses ahead of key U.S. data later this week.

"There's some profit taking at the high end. I think people are shifting money into stocks because the U.S. economy seems to be improving. I don't think the ETF is giving you better returns," said a bullion dealer in Hong Kong.

"Also I think the gold market is moving too slowly after reaching the high."

In Singapore, a centre for bullion trading in Southeast Asia, dealers noted sales of scraps from Thailand and Indonesia as holders cashed in on bullion's rise to a record.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings fell to 1,205.467 tonnes by April 6, their lowest level since May last year, from 1,212.745 tonnes on April 5.

U.S. gold futures for June fell $2 to $1,456.5 an ounce. Gold's volatility index dropped more than 2 percent on Wednesday, suggesting that the market was not expecting wild price movements in the future.

Brent crude dipped on Thursday after five straight days of gains on concern that rising prices will hurt demand from the world's top oil consumers the United States and China, but unrest in North Africa and the Middle East cushioned the fall.

Precious metals prices 0607 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover
 Spot Gold        1454.69   -2.31   -0.16      2.48
 Spot Silver        39.30   -0.13  -0.33     27.35
 Spot Platinum    1779.00   -8.45   -0.47      0.65
 Spot Palladium    773.43   -4.67   -0.60     -3.26
 TOCOM Gold       3996.00    3.00   +0.08     7.16        57655
 TOCOM Platinum   4903.00  -52.00   -1.05     4.41        17505
 TOCOM Silver      107.60  -0.50   -0.46    32.84         2200
 TOCOM Palladium  2127.00  -42.00   -1.94     1.43          544
 Euro/Dollar       1.4309
 Dollar/Yen         85.27
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in  $ per ounce.
 (Editing by Himani Sarkar)	
 	

(Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/markets-precious-idUSL3E7F706G20110407)