Trump's Iran Talks Spark Oil Rout as Yen Gets Lifeline

Oil prices plummeted on Monday as US President Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran would take place, sparking hopes of peace in the Middle East.

The price of Brent crude futures sank more than 6% to $82.41, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.4%. The Nikkei dipped 1%, and South Korea's KOSPI slid 3.6% after a turbulent July in which it slumped 22%.

The Japanese yen suddenly surged more than 1% to 155.39 per US dollar, prompting traders to be on alert for another bout of intervention.

Japan and the US conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention, confirming a rare bilateral action to halt the yen's slide to fresh 40-year lows.

Masayuki Nakajima, a Mizuho Bank strategist, noted that the objective was likely not to reverse the broader trend of dollar/yen, but rather to shift momentum in favor of yen appreciation due to recent US-Japan communication.