Gold Gains On Donald Trump’s Impeachment; Restrictions On Imports In Powdered Form

On Thursday, gold prices in the international and Indian markets gained after the US House of Representatives voted to impeach their President Donald Trump on articles of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Gold futures on MCX were trading as high as Rs 37,959 per 10 grams, its fifth consecutive session of upward movement. In the global market, spot gold was up by 0.1 percent to $1,477.15 an ounce, while US gold futures were 0.2 percent higher at $1,481.30 per ounce.

Trump became the third American president to be impeached, however, no president in the US history has been removed from office on this account.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment and a trial is scheduled to be held next month in the Senate on whether he should be convicted or removed from office.

The 100-member Senate is largely Republican (Trump's party) and would require two-thirds majority votes to remove him from office, which experts think is unlikely as it will mean at least 20 percent Republicans would have to join the Democrats to vote against Trump.

Trump has been accused of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former vice-president and his political rival Joe Biden as well as a discredited theory that Democrats conspired with Ukraine to meddle in the 2016 election.

The second article has accused Trump of obstruction of Congress by directing administration officials and agencies not to comply with lawful House subpoenas for testimony and documents related to impeachment.

The impeachment slightly eased the US dollar in value, making gold cheaper for buyers in non-dollar denominations.

Restrictions imposed on imports of gold, silver in powdered form

In India, the government issued a notification on Wednesday, restricting imports of gold and silver in the powder and unwrought forms. Industry officials say the gold and silver in powder and unwrought forms are mainly used for industrial purposes and not for making jewellery.

With inputs from Reuters