Trump's Iran Talks Send Oil Prices Plummeting as Yen Rises

Oil prices plummeted over 6% to $82.41 on Monday as US President Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran would take place, sparking hopes of a Middle East peace deal.

The news sent Brent crude futures tumbling, while the yen surged more than 1% to 155.39 per US dollar in a sudden move that caught traders off guard.

Japan's finance ministry confirmed that the country and the US had conducted coordinated intervention to prop up the yen, which has been sliding towards fresh 40-year lows.

Mizuho Bank strategist Masayuki Nakajima said the goal of the intervention was not to reverse the long-term trend of dollar-yen appreciation, but rather to stabilize the currency in the short term.

However, Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the US-Japan intervention, stating that it 'pushes against the fundamentals' and is likely to be corrected once the intervention ends.