3 Assets to Watch (June 22-26): Brent Oil, Micron, USDJPY+

Markets are cautiously cheering early signs of positive developments in US-Iran peace talks.



Iran revealed “major progress” stemming from all-night talks with the US in Switzerland.

Here are some key price moves so far this Monday, June 22nd:

• Brent Oil (UKOUSD): -1.7%, testing its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for critical support.

• Gold (XAUUSD+): +1%, testing psychological resistance around $4200

• Nasdaq 100 (NAS100) +0.2% hovering just 1% below its all-time intraday high of 30795.97 posted on June 3rd.

• Solana (SOL): +1.1%, inching closer to the upside target we set this time last week (Monday, June 15)





Key Events This Week



• Wednesday, June 24: Micron earnings

• Thursday, June 25: US May Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) - Fed’s preferred measure of inflation

• Friday, June 26: Tokyo June consumer price index (CPI)





3 Assets to Watch (June 22-26)



1) Brent oil to erase Iran war gains?



At the time of writing on this Monday, June 22nd, Brent is sitting on “only” 9.4% gains since the Iran war erupted on February 28th.

Those gains amid the conflict once stood as much as 63.7% (using intraday prices on Bybit TradFi platforms):

• starting from February 27th closing price (before the first US-Israeli strikes against Iran in this conflict)

• up to April 30th intraday high (breached $120/bbl for first time in 4 years!)

Also at the time of writing, Brent is still higher by 32.5% so far in 2026.



In recent sessions, rising hopes that the Strait of Hormuz will re-open sustainably is sending Brent oil to test its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for critical support.

Ask TradeGPT: What is the 200-day simple moving average? How can traders use this technical indicator?



POTENTIAL SCENARIOS

• UPSIDE: Assuming the 200-day SMA holds as the crucial immediate support level, Brent oil could rebound towards $88/bbl if US-Iran peace talks deteriorates and military actions resume.

• DOWNSIDE: If the 200-day SMA fails as the crucial immediate support level, Brent oil could sink towards $72/bbl and wipe out all of its post-war gains should US-Iran peace talks hail further positive breakthroughs towards a sustainable end to this Middle East conflict.

[Trade Brent Crude Oil Button]<https://i.bybit.com/1cehabg>







2) Micron forecasted to move 10% up/down post-earnings



At the time of writing (Mon, June 22nd), Micron has hit yet another new record high*!

*prices on Micron USDT perpetual contracts on Bybit’s trading platforms.

Micron is set to release its latest quarterly earnings after US markets close this Wednesday, June 24th.

This AI stock has soared almost 300% year-to-date (to be more precise: 297.3%), making it one of the star performers on the US stock market so far in 2026:

• NAS100 index: Micron is the 4th biggest gainer among the 100 stocks contained within the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, behind Sandisk (+820.4% ytd), Western Digital (+333.2% ytd), and Arm (+302% ytd).

• SP500 index: With a market cap of US$ 1.28 trillion, Micron is the 9th biggest stock in the benchmark S&P 500 index. Micron also has far and away the biggest year-to-date gain among the 10 biggest stocks within the S&P 500, handily beating the likes of Nvidia (+13% ytd), Alphabet (+17% ytd), and Broadcom (+18.8%).

NOTE: The S&P 500 index is arguably the most popular way to measure the overall performance of the US stock market.

Options markets currently predict that Micron shares could soar/sink by 10.1% when markets react to its latest earnings release.

POTENTIAL SCENARIOS

• UPSIDE: Micron is likely to surge to a new record high around $1290 if its earnings results continue to feed the AI-mania.

• DOWNSIDE: Micron may pull back to $1055 if its latest earnings disappoint already lofty expectations for AI-fuelled earnings, perhaps even dragging other AI-linked stocks down in tandem.

Typically, most retail traders and investors will only get the chance to react to Micron’s earnings once TradFi markets re-open on Thursday, June 25th.

However, with Bybit, clients can trade Micron’s share prices 24/7 with the perpetuals contract.

[Trade Micron Perps Now]<https://i.bybit.com/1ab3YDB6>







3) Will USDJPY+ soar to a 40-year high?



At the time of writing, USDJPY+ is within a whisker of the 161.80 level it briefly breached last Friday (June 19th), when it marked its highest intraday price since July 2024.



This major G10 FX pair soared to a 2-year high late last week, despite:

• June 16th: the Bank of Japan raising interest rates, as widely expected, to 1% - its highest level since 1995

• June 19th: a stern warning about “bold action” to support the Yen from Japanese Finance Minister, Satsuki Katayama

NOTE: USDJPY moving higher = stronger US dollar vs. Weaker Yen

Should USDJPY hit the psychological 162.00 level (a price not seen since December 1986), it risks another strong currency intervention by the Japanese government that forces USDJPY+ to sink lower.

Last month (May 2026), Japan’s Finance Ministry already spent a record US$ 73.4 billion to intervene and defend the Yen, albeit to little effect so far.



Besides a potentially dramatic currency intervention, USDJPY+ traders are also set to closely watch the inflation data out of either side of the Pacific this week:

• Thursday, June 25: US May Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)

Economists predict the various PCE figures rose 0.5% month-on-month (m/m) and 4.1% year-on-year (y/y) - all rising, even the core PCE numbers, at a faster pace compared to April’s figures.

• Friday, June 26: Tokyo June consumer price index (CPI)

Economists predict these Tokyo CPI figures to have risen faster year-on-year in June (headline CPI: 1.6% y/y; core CPI: 1.8% y/y)

Over the coming week, BloomberG’s FX model predicts an 83% chance that USDJPY+ will trade between 159.50 - 163.80 over the course of this week.

POTENTIAL SCENARIOS

• UPSIDE: USDJPY+ may soar to a 40-year high if -

NOTE: At the time of writing, markets predict a greater-than-even 65% chance that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will next hike rates in end-October 2026.



• DOWNSIDE: USDJPY+ may tumble swiftly towards 159.50 if -

NOTE: A currency tends to strengthen at the thought of its country’s interest rates rising

[Trade USDJPY+ Button]<https://i.bybit.com/V5abAC0>







DISCLAIMER:

This article is provided for general information and reflects the author’s views only. It does not constitute investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or digital assets. Your ability to access or use any products or services mentioned may be subject to the laws and regulatory requirements of your jurisdiction.