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FX Summary: Dollar-yen rises toward 159.20 yen as Middle East optimism fades

Mon Apr 20, 2026 10:14 am JST Currency

The dollar was trading around 159.01 yen at 10:00 a.m. in Tokyo on the 20th, down approximately 25 sen from 159.26 yen at 5:00 p.m. last Friday, as the yen strengthened against the greenback.

In the New York market on the 17th, the dollar-yen pair closed near 158.64 yen, down more than 50 sen from the previous day. A social media post by Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stating that the Strait of Hormuz would be fully opened following the Lebanon ceasefire triggered an unwinding of safe-haven dollar buying, dragging the pair down to 157.59 yen at one point.

However, optimism over the Middle East retreated in Tokyo after US President Trump posted on social media on the 19th that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to breach a US naval blockade had been seized. With crude oil futures rising in after-hours trading, concerns over Japan's deteriorating trade balance?driven by its heavy energy import reliance?intensified, pushing the dollar-yen rate toward 159.20 yen around 9:00 a.m.

The euro traded near 1.1754 dollars, down approximately 0.0030 dollars from Friday evening. Against the yen, the euro stood at around 186.91 yen, down roughly 75 sen as the euro weakened against both the dollar and the yen.

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.

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