Gold traded little changed in Asia after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the “vast majority” of the nation’s banks have enough capital, easing investors’ concerns about the global economy. The comments boosted equities and eased demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, stood unchanged at 1,105.98 metric tons for a second day yesterday. “Geithner sought to reassure markets about the health of the U.S. financial sector and the success of the Troubled Asset Relief Program,” James Steel, an analyst at HSBC Securities, wrote in an e-mailed note. The Treasury-run program, known as TARP, is used to channel state funds to U.S. lenders. Bullion for immediate delivery was at $883.10 an ounce at 9:33 a.m. Singapore time, 70 cents lower than yesterday’s close. The metal also ended little-changed April 21, after falling as much as 0.6 percent. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver was up 0.3 percent at $12.075 an ounce, platinum gained 1 percent to $1,171.50 an ounce, and palladium rose 0.2 percent to $224.25 an ounce.

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