UPDATE 1-India gold stays firm, buyers wait for dips

(Updates to trends in the physical market)

* Spot gold up at $888.10 an ounce XAU=

* London Brent crude lower at $101.31 a barrel LCOc1

* Rupee weaker at 46.22 per dollar INR=IN * U.S. data - weekly jobless claims at 6 p.m., new home sales at 7:30 p.m. <MI/DIARY>

MUMBAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - India's gold prices firmed up on Thursday, taking cues from global markets where concerns about a U.S. bailout of financial systems kept gold's safe haven appeal intact, but in the local market, physical buyers waited for dips.

"There is hardly any demand... those who had to buy have already stocked up for the near term," said Mayank Khemka, managing director of Khemka International Pvt Ltd, a New Delhi-based trading company.

Foreign gold, that guides the local market, traded near a seven-week high struck earlier this week with support from a weaker dollar.

Speculative buying amid concerns about a $700 billion U.S. bailout plan to rescue troubled financial companies, also supported the metal.

Gold generally has an inverse relation with the dollar as the two compete for funds. But the metal moves in tow with crude oil as the later signals inflation that the metal negates.