The main events by the morning: April 18

• The yuan is gradually increasing its influence in world trade. In March, its share in global payments via SWIFT reached a historic high of 4.69%. At the same time, the relative volumes of the largest currencies move in different directions: the share of the euro decreased from 23.25% to 21.93%, and the share of the dollar increased from 46.56% to 47.37%.

• France has become the leader among European countries in purchasing Russian gas. In February, the French purchased LNG in Russia for 322 million euros, while Hungary, which was the leader in the previous two months, bought gas for 210 million euros. Total purchases of Russian gas in the last month of winter amounted to 1.1 billion euros, of which LNG accounted for 619.4 million euros.

• The European Union has announced sanctions against Iran in response to its attack on Israel. After the United States, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels announced the expansion of sanctions against Iran, mainly aimed at limiting the production of drones and missiles. The head of the European Parliament also called for the inclusion of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the list of terrorist organizations.

• Donald Trump met with Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower in New York. According to Polish media, Duda has long sought this meeting and may be hoping for Donald Trump's return to the presidency this year. Nevertheless, the Polish president treats Trump less kindly than Biden, due to serious differences in political views on Russia and Ukraine.

• Wildberries will start selling cars on April 18. Chery brand cars will be the first to go on sale. At the initial stage, the new category will be available to users from 17 Russian regions.