The main events by the morning: June 18

• The Fed meeting will be held today – the markets are waiting for a rate decision. Last time, in March, officials expected an average of two declines in 2025, given the uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's economic policy. Most observers do not expect changes today either: many members of the regulator tend to maintain previously announced guidelines, despite new risks.

• The United States will not impose sanctions against Russia until at least July due to an overloaded international and domestic agenda. At the same time, the sanctions bill on 500% duties for buyers of Russian oil and gas is still being finalized in the Senate. At the same time, exceptions are being considered for countries that support Ukraine but continue to purchase energy resources from Moscow. 

• The first investment fund for mining cryptocurrencies has appeared in Russia. The Power Systems company has launched a closed–end mutual investment fund Finam - Cryptozavod 1.0 for qualified investors, which allows them to become co-owners of a mining business. A five-year fund with a volume of 850 million rubles or more and a minimum entry amount of 5 million rubles assumes a yield of 49% per annum and a commission of 1% of the asset value. 

• Consumer prices in the eurozone rose by 1.9% year-on-year in May. The result coincided with the preliminary estimate and the consensus forecast of analysts. This is stated in the report of the statistical office of the European Union, which provided the final data. Thus, inflation slowed down from 2.2% in April.

• China is promoting the digital yuan in its quest for a multipolar currency system. An international operations center for the digital yuan will be established in Shanghai, driven by interest in alternatives to the dollar amid trade disputes between the United States and China. Beijing is striving to make the yuan a global reserve currency, but the lack of full convertibility of capital slows down this process.