Gold fell for the first time in three days in London as rising equity markets reduced demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Stocks climbed in Europe and Asia as Japan’s Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Prime Minister Taro Aso is preparing a third spending plan, and China signaled additional measures to bolster its economy. The MSCI World Index has dropped 18 percent this year, while bullion has added 4.7 percent. “As long as equities continue to rally, there will be very little interest in the safe haven asset, at least until inflation concerns resurface,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London. Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $5.68, or 0.6 percent, to $920.95 an ounce and traded at $921.75 by 9:01 a.m. in London. April futures fell $1.70, or 0.2 percent, to $922.30 an ounce in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Japan’s Aso will ask ministers to propose measures and may be ready to announce a package to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in the U.K. in April, Yosano said today. China can add “at any time” to 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) of stimulus measures to revive the world’s third-biggest economy, Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters in Beijing. Gold is down 1.8 percent this week, heading for a third weekly decline and the longest losing streak since October. The metal has gained this year as investors seek a haven amid the worsening economic crisis. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, advanced 0.3 percent to a record 1,041.53 metric tons yesterday, according to figures on the company’s Web site. The fund’s holdings are now larger than the 1,040.1 tons held by Switzerland in January, according to Swiss National Bank data. Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver lost 0.1 percent to $12.98 an ounce. Platinum added 0.3 percent to $1,052.50, and palladium lost 0.1 percent to $198.50 an ounce.

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