Gold futures remained little changed Wednesday as investors adjusted their positions after the precious metal ended at its highest level in seven months during the previous session. Meanwhile, safe-haven buying pushed up holdings in the biggest gold exchange-traded fund to surpass 1,000 tons for the first time ever, according to latest data. Gold for February delivery was up 40 cents at $967.40 an ounce in early action on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had rallied 2.7% to end at $967 Tuesday, the highest closing level since July. Trading more actively, the April gold contract also moved up slightly to trade at $968 an ounce. The seven-month high "was welcomed by many physical holders," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers. But profit-taking also attracted some investors to the sales tables, he said. Gold is now about $35 below its all-time high above $1,003 an ounce, hit in March 2008. Talk of "gunning for the $1,000 level" should keep buyers at the helm, Nadler said. Also helping gold prices hold firm Wednesday was more gloomy news from the U.S. economy. Construction on new U.S. housing units plunged 16.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000, the Commerce Department reported, with housing starts now far below the weakest levels of construction in the post-World War II era. Such news tends to boost gold prices, as some investors buy the metal as a safe haven against economic troubles. Meanwhile, the Obama administration released details Wednesday of a program to help millions of at-risk homeowners modify their mortgages. See full story on Obama housing plan. Demand surpasses $100 billion Demand for gold surpassed $100 billion last year for the first time ever, amid increased industrial and jewelry consumption and investors' purchase of the metal as a safe haven, the World Gold Council reported Wednesday. Gold demand -- including jewelry consumption, industrial demand and identifiable investments such as bars, coins and gold exchange-traded funds -- hit $102 billion in 2008, up 29% from a year ago. In tonnage terms, gold demand rose 4% to 3,659 tons, the WGC said Gold holdings in SPDR Gold Shares, the largest gold exchange-traded fund, rose to 1,008.80 tons Tuesday, surpassing the 1,000 ton level for the first time, according to latest data from the fund. The total was up more than 200 tons from a month ago. The SPDR Gold Trust slid 0.3% to $95.16. In spot trading, the London afternoon gold-fixing price -- a benchmark for gold traded directly between big institutions -- stood at $964 an ounce Wednesday, down $4 from the previous day. Other metals, equities In other metals trading, March copper rose 1% to $1.437 a pound, while March silver also gained 1% to $14.145 an ounce. March palladium added 0.5% to $219 an ounce, but the April contract for sister metal platinum fell 0.1% to $1,097 an ounce. In equities, shares of Barrick Gold Corp. , the world's largest gold-mining company, lost 1.1% to $36.87, while Goldcorp Inc. fell 0.4% to $31.71, and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. lost 1.7% to $11.63. The Amex Gold Bugs Index , which tracks the share prices of major gold companies, fell 1.4% to 314.70. The iShares Gold Trust ETF fell 0.4% to $95.21, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF rose 0.3% to $14.03.

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