Concerns over Middle East tensions have eased, and the dollar/yen has fallen to just under 158 yen.

【3/23Market Overview

In Tokyo time, USD/JPY rose due to rising geopolitical risk around the Middle East and the rally in crude oil futures. Against the backdrop of “safe-haven dollar buying,”159.65yen reached. In European trading, President Trump posted onSNSthat “we had very good and productive talks with Iran for two days” and that “the attack on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure will be postponed for five days,” easing concerns over the Middle East situation. Crude oil futures fell sharply, and the Dow Jones surged. In the currency market, momentum to unwind the “safe-haven dollar buying” prevailed, and USD/JPY fell toNYNY294; wait, corrected: Dow Jones surged. In the foreign exchange market, the unwinding of the “safe-haven dollar buying” dominated, and USD/JPY fell to158.23yen. At NY time, USD/JPY was158.02yen. Also, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said “there was no meeting with the United States” and that “our stance on the Strait of Hormuz and the conditions for ending war have not changed,” and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf stated that “we have had no negotiations with the United States.” Crude futures struggled to fall, and U.S. stock indices trimmed gains. There was renewed buying of USD/JPY.

【3/24Market View