* ETF holdings plunge to four-year lows * Coming Up: U.S. Jobless claims Weekly; 1230 GMT (Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE) By Clara Denina LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Thursday, as the dollar steadied against the euro and equity markets retreated, while physical demand started to slow and investment interest remained sluggish. Supply of gold bars, coins and nuggets remained tight in some parts of Asia, but outflows from exchange-traded funds showed no signs of abating due to sagging investor confidence in the metal this year, which, analysts said could leave prices in a tight range in the short term. "Physical demand is still strong, although possibly not as much as it was in the past weeks, and we are not seeing a lot scrap coming back into the market, which is definitely supporting the price to some extent," Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet said. "But of course we have to look at the ETF liquidation, which is a drag, and on balance I'd say prices will probably remain rangebound between $1,450 and $1,480 in the short term." Spot gold was down 0.1 percent to $1,470.36 by 1155 GMT, having gained 1.4 percent in the previous session, its biggest one-day rise in two weeks. U.S. gold for June delivery fell 0.2 percent to $1,470.90 an ounce. Prices have rebounded by more than $100 from the April 16 trough at $1,321.35, but further downside risks remain on the cards as investors keep generally shifting their money into soaring equities, analysts said. "Given the performance of high yielding equities across the globe of late, reduction of tail risk in Europe, rising labour market in the U.S. and anaemic inflation rates, people are preferring to put their money back into the stock markets, whilst reducing their exposure to commodities," MKS Capital said in a note. The dollar was steady versus the euro and a basket of other currencies, while European shares halted a sharp three-week rally to multi-year highs, as investors booked in profits. Markets were now focusing on the release of weekly jobless claims in the United States, due at 1230 GMT. ETFs AT 4-YEAR LOWS Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed ETF, fell 0.60 percent to 1,051.47 tonnes on Wednesday from 1,057.79 tonnes on Tuesday, the lowest level since March 2009. The physical market was mixed in Asia, with dealers in Singapore noting a slowdown in buying interest and those in Hong Kong reporting a shortage in the supply of gold bars that kept premiums at multi-month highs. In other precious metals, silver rose 0.8 percent to $24.09 an ounce. Reflecting continued retail investment buying for silver, the U.S. Mint will limit dealers' purchases of its "America the Beautiful" five-ounce silver bullion coins when they go on sale next week. Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,506.99 an ounce and palladium stood at $696.22, up 0.6 percent. (Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore; editing by James Jukwey)

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