US President Trump said on July 3 that Free Fuel Network will cut gasoline prices at 25 Free Fuel stations in the greater Philadelphia area, urged other retailers to follow, and predicted pump prices would soon return to the record lows seen before the "Iran action".

U.S. special envoy Matthew Whitaker warned ahead of a summit with President Trump in Ankara that some European NATO members are not meeting defense-spending commitments. Under U.S. pressure, NATO leaders agreed at The Hague last year to raise defense-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Whitaker said Poland, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states and Germany are leading, but several allies are lagging either because current spending is insufficient or because they have no credible path to meet the Hague pledge. He said Trump expects all allies to move immediately toward the 5% target and to act quickly.

South Korea June CPI rose 3.2% YoY, the fastest pace since Dec 2023 and in line with economists' forecasts. Core inflation excluding volatile food and energy held at 2.5%, signalling persistent underlying price pressures. The print reinforces expectations that the Bank of Korea will remain hawkish ahead of its July 16 policy meeting; policymakers cite inflation, strong growth, a weaker won and surging house prices as increasingly pointing to the need to tighten monetary policy.