May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell to a one-week low in London as stock advances and a rebound by the euro curbed demand for the metal as a haven asset. European equities gained for the first time in three days as company earnings eased concern that measures to control the region's debt crisis will curb economic growth. The euro traded little changed against the dollar after yesterday sliding to the lowest level in more than four years. Holdings in the world's biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund rose to a record. Gold "could be at risk to a correction as risk appetite begins to improve," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report. Still, the increase in ETF holdings and bar and coin demand suggests "investors are still looking to diversify from fiat currencies and as a result we expect dips in gold and silver to be viewed as buying opportunities." Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $12, or 1 percent, to $1,210.45 an ounce and traded at $1,214.30 at 11:20 a.m. in London. The metal reached a record $1,249.40 on May 14. Bullion for June delivery slipped 1.1 percent to $1,214.30 on the Comex in New York. Bullion dropped to $1,215 an ounce in the morning "fixing" in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $1,236 at yesterday's afternoon fixing. Gold has rallied 11 percent this year, following nine straight years of annual gains, as investors sought safety from Europe's fiscal turmoil. Euro area policy makers last week unveiled an unprecedented loan package worth nearly $1 trillion and a program of bond purchases to forestall defaults by countries including Greece, Spain and Portugal. 'Demand is Crumbling' Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest ETF backed by bullion, increased 3.04 metric tons to a record 1,217.11 metric tons yesterday, according to the company's website. Investors added 46 metric tons of gold to "major" ETFs last week, Societe Generale said in a report yesterday. Recent gains in gold prices may erode demand from retail investors in Asia, said David Wilson, a London-based analyst with Societe Generale SA. "The fundamental background suggests that this recent upward move cannot continue forever," Wilson said. "Demand is crumbling in Asia in the face of gold's relentless upward march and the volatility in the metal's price." Gold gained in eight of the past nine weeks, and rallied in unison with the U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback's strength, in the last four weeks. Gold has generally moved inversely to the currency. The euro rebounded from a drop of as much as 0.7 percent against the dollar today. 'Refuge in Gold' Investors are taking "refuge in gold as a safe haven on fears that the eurozone debt crisis will spread," Eugen Weinberg, Frankfurt-based analyst with Commerzbank AG, wrote in a report. "This is also attracting speculative financial investors, who see gold less as a hedge against financial market risks but basically want to profit from price movements." The euro's 13 percent decline against the dollar this year and concern about currency debasement prompted some investors to buy gold. "We wish to run to the exits -- entirely -- with our long positions in gold versus the foreign currencies," Dennis Gartman, an economist and editor of the Suffolk, Virgina-based Gartman Letter, said today. "With the public now heavily involved, we want out and are heading for the sidelines." Among precious metals for immediate delivery in London, silver fell as much as 1.2 percent to a one-week low of $18.6825 an ounce and was last at $18.8325. Platinum added 0.4 percent to $1,677.85 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.1 percent at $505 an ounce.

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