The yen weakened to 157.30–40 per dollar in New York trading on the 21st, down 0.45 yen from the previous weekend, as investors adjusted positions while assessing Middle East developments and the Japan-U.S. summit scheduled for later in the week. Early dollar buying reflected expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC, the U.S. central bank policy panel) would raise rates. Later, hopes for diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran pushed down crude oil prices and U.S. long-term yields, reducing some support for the dollar. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, while reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was open to meeting him and that Iran and Pakistan were discussing a peace process supported expectations for negotiations. U.S. long-term rates fell 0.04 percentage point to 4.95%, but remained close to the psychologically important 5% threshold, limiting yen buying. The yen also remained supported by concerns that Japan’s government and the Bank of Japan could intervene, particularly with Japanese markets closed for a holiday and trading expected to be thin. The euro rose to 180.40–50 yen, while the euro declined to $1.1460–70 after German state election results heightened political uncertainty. New York crude futures also fell as diplomatic hopes and improved Saudi Arabian supply eased supply concerns.