Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold T+D was down 0.76% in early trade on Aug 27 at 993.95 yuan/gram; Silver T+D fell 0.62% to 16,609 yuan/kg.

On the 26th, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami said the IAEA must obtain legal approval from the Iranian parliament and the issuance of corresponding security procedures before inspecting any nuclear facility that has been subject to military attack. He said all Iranian sites hit in attacks were previously registered with and inspected by the IAEA, and that the agency’s failure to condemn the strikes has called its capability and independence into question. The United States and Israel have pressed the IAEA to visit damaged Iranian facilities to assess the effects of their strikes. Iran will not accept IAEA inspection requests for those facilities until the parliament-mandated security regulations are issued.

Typhoon Zitan disrupted South China Sea shipping routes, raising freight and pushing iron ore futures higher. Singapore Exchange benchmark September iron ore futures rose 1.04% on Wednesday to $98.15 per tonne. Higher freight typically supports seaborne iron ore prices, but analysts said widening steelmaker losses have slowed production and mill inventories remain relatively high, capping further upside for ore.