PRECIOUS-Gold inches above $1,400, seen choppy

SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Monday and held above the psychologically key level of $1,400 an ounce, although sentiment was shaky after steady outflows from exchange-traded funds trimmed holdings to their lowest in three years. But physical demand was expected to offer support as gold retailers struggled to cope with a surge in buying interest for bars, coins, nuggets and jewellery following a recent slump in prices. FUNDAMENTALS * Gold had added $1.49 an ounce to $1,405.34 by 0032 GMT. It fell around 5 percent last week after notching its biggest-ever daily loss in dollar terms on Monday. The collapse surprised many veteran investors, who see gold as portfolio protection against inflation and other market risks. * U.S. gold for June delivery was at $1,406.70 an ounce, up $11.10. * Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD, dropped 0.88 percent on Friday from Thursday, while those of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust SLV remained unchanged for the same period. * But hedge funds and other big speculators ploughed new money into gold even after the precious metal posted a record loss in dollar terms this week, according to trading data on Friday that also showed inflows for many other commodities * It is too early for the European Central Bank to judge whether a further interest rate cut is needed but the impact of Japan's easing must be closely monitored, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Saturday. * For the top stories on metals and other news, click , or MARKET NEWS * Bulls drove Japanese shares to nearly five-year highs as yen bears clawed at the symbolic 100 yen/dollar door after the Group of 20 gathering in Washington all but endorsed the Bank of Japan's aggressive reflation drive. * U.S. crude futures extended gains for a second day on Friday on bargain-hunting, while talk that OPEC could hold an emergency meeting to tackle the recent sharp price falls supported oil. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1230 U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity index 1400 Euro zone Consumer confidence 1400 U.S. Existing home sales