US President Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of legal action by the International Criminal Court (ICC) during a government meeting at Camp David on Friday.
In remarks reported by La Nouvelle Tribune, Trump used irony to suggest that there was no indication the court was targeting him personally, effectively dismissing the threat of international prosecution.
The comments add a layer of political noise to a session where market attention remains fixed on macroeconomic data rather than geopolitical posturing.
While the president's rhetoric highlights ongoing tensions between the US administration and international judicial bodies, financial markets have shown limited sensitivity to such statements in the absence of concrete policy shifts or sanctions.
Investors are currently digesting fresh inflation data from Asia, where China's consumer price index (CPI) rose just 1.0% year-on-year in June.
The figure, which edged lower as cooling energy and commodity prices dampened headline inflation, signals weakening domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy.