* Gold firmer, SDPR holdings hit record * For the technical outlook for gold see: [ID:nSGE64Q00P] * Coming Up: U.S. weekly jobless claims data at 1230 GMT (Recasts, previous SINGAPORE) By Rebekah Curtis LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - Gold rose slightly on Thursday as worries about Europe's debt woes attracted buying from investors, while holdings in the world's largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund jumped to another record. Spot gold XAU= was at $1,211.25 an ounce by 0913 GMT, up from $1,209.90 late in New York's on Wednesday. Gold hit a record high of $1,248.95 in mid-May as investors favoured bullion's safe heaven appeal and ditched the euro on fears euro zone austerity measures could hurt, rather than help, a recovery. Gains in gold were capped on Thursday, however, as the euro rose versus the dollar after Chinese officials denied a report that the country may be distancing itself from euro zone debt holdings. But bullion remained underpinned by the currency's recent weakness and by concerns that the euro zone crisis might deepen and damage the region's banking sector. [USD/] .DXY "It's the safe haven appeal," Robin Bhar, an analyst at Credit Agricole said of gold's rise. "It's the same fears of sovereign debt, of double dip recession, of China slowing," he added. "It's all those fears driving gold higher." He added the euro would likely retest recent four-year lows versus the dollar. Bullion dropped to a two-week low last week as investors sold the metal to cover losses in equities but analysts said the subsequent recovery showed that sentiment was still bullish. For a graphic showing the gold technical outlook, see: here ETF BOOST The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings totalled 1,267.626 tonnes as of May 26, from 1,267.322 tonnes a day earlier, setting a fresh record high. [GOL/SPDR] Also supporting prices, the World Gold Council said global gold demand would likely rebound this year as investors buy the metal as a safe store of value away from volatile financial markets and as consumers get used to higher prices. [ID:nLDE64O1WQ] U.S. gold futures for June delivery GCM0 added $2.9 to $1,216.3 an ounce. Platinum XPT= was at $1,541.40 an ounce against $1,518.50, while palladium XPD= was at $451.18 against $436.50. Spot silver XAG= was bid at $18.29 an ounce against $18.01. But some analysts remained cautious on the complex. "We have seen a small rebound across the whole precious complex, yet we would be very careful here as risk sentiment is still far from ideal," said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at VTB Capital. On the economic agenda investors will look out for U.S. weekly jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT, and U.S. preliminary GDP data, also at 1230 GMT. (Editing by James Jukwey)

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