* Sterling up 0.5 pct vs dollar ahead of ECB tender * Euro/sterling hovering within sight of 11-mth low * BoE minutes due 0930 GMT By Nia Williams LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Sterling extended gains versus the dollar on Wednesday ahead of a European Central Bank tender of three-year loans and traded close to an 11-month high against the euro, supported by investors looking for a relative safe haven from the euro zone. Investors appeared to shrug off a warning from ratings agency Moody's that the UK's triple-A credit rating is under threat from the euro zone debt crisis. Many analysts said that risk was already obvious.. Market players also said minutes from the December Bank of England meeting due at 0930 GMT were unlikely to knock the pound significantly even if they are dovish as expected. Instead, the pound looked likely to be driven by investor appetite to take on risk ahead of the ECB making its first offer of three-year loans later in the session. Most perceived riskier currencies were stronger against the dollar, with many market players expecting the tender to help the region's banks lower their funding costs. [ID:ID:nL3E7NJ436] Trade-weighted sterling, which tracks the pound's value against the currencies of the UK's main trading partners, held firm at Tuesday's high of 81.5, its highest since March. The euro was flat versus the pound at 83.49 pence, within sight of an 11-month high of 83.40 pence hit the previous session. "Overall there is a better tone to risk and the pound is winning the contest of the majors. Euro/sterling has had a stunning run, people are seeing it as a bit of a safe haven," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com. "The news from Moody's warning about the UK's triple-A does not seem to have had an effect at all." Brooks said on the technical side, the daily MACD was starting to indicate euro/sterling looked oversold. Against the dollar, however, the pound was still relatively weak and could test resistance around $1.5780, the late November high. The pound put in its best performance against the dollar since July on Tuesday, with traders citing buying from Middle East names and year-end corporate demand. The same flows were reported on Wednesday, and the pound rose 0.6 percent to $1.5747. BOE MINUTES The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee minutes are expected to show all nine members voted to keep rates on hold at a record low of 0.5 percent in December. The minutes are also likely to show policymakers are prepared to consider further monetary stimulus to boost the fragile UK economy in the early part of 2012. Some analysts said although further dovishness could weigh on the pound they expected little market reaction to the BoE minutes, given the focus would be the ECB tender. "Should there be discussion on further asset purchases in today's minutes, this could weigh on sterling performance; however for today we expect risk appetite will largely dominate moves in GBP/USD," Lloyds analysts said in a note. BoE asset purchases have helped support the UK gilt market in recent months, which has also benefited from portfolio flows out of the euro zone sovereign debt markets that in turn weighed on euro/sterling. UK public sector net borrowing figures, published at the same time as the BoE minutes, will also give investors an idea of how the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's deficit reduction plan is progressing.

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