The main events by the morning: March 7

• The ECB cut three key interest rates by 25 basis points, continuing the policy easing cycle. From March 12, 2025, deposit, refinancing and lending rates will be 2.5%, 2.65% and 2.9%. The eurozone's GDP growth forecast for 2025 has been lowered to 0.9%, and the inflation forecast has been raised to 2.3%. For 2026 and 2027, the inflation forecasts are 1.9% and 2%.

• Trump has finally signed a decree on the creation of a strategic reserve of bitcoin. David Sachs, who was appointed responsible for the development of AI and cryptocurrencies in the White House, said that this reserve will include cryptocurrencies already owned by the United States. In particular, we are talking about 200 thousand bitcoins confiscated from criminals, which are estimated at about $17 billion at the current exchange rate. These funds will be kept as savings.

• The American OFAC has begun to actively consider applications from Russians to unfreeze assets after six months of silence. This is probably due to the improvement of relations between Moscow and Washington. The status of 50 of the 75 applications has changed to «in progress» – they were submitted in June last year after the imposition of sanctions against the Moscow Stock Exchange. However, the status change does not guarantee a positive decision on asset unfreezing.

• The United States continues to hope for an opportunity to negotiate with Russia and China on reducing nuclear arsenals. Trump told reporters at the White House that he intends to hold full-fledged talks with Russia and China on denuclearization. He stressed that during his previous term he had managed to make significant progress on the issue of reducing nuclear arsenals with Russia. Trump also noted that China could significantly increase its number of missiles within 4-5 years, approaching the levels of Russia and the United States.

• Oil prices remain near six-month lows due to concerns about the global economy and expectations of OPEC+ production growth. May Brent futures on ICE Futures are at $69.51 per barrel, almost unchanged after rising to $69.46 on Thursday. April WTI futures on the NYMEX rose to $66.37 per barrel.