Russia's central bank foreign exchange and gold reserves stood at $722.4 bln in the week to July 10, compared with $721.7 bln the previous week.

Mitsubishi Electric plans to reach an agreement with Toshiba and Rohm to combine their power semiconductor businesses before September, creating a joint entity to consolidate sales, manufacturing and R&D, the companies said. Executives are finalizing deal details and hope to announce a joint-venture plan in September. The move, supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, is aimed at boosting the competitiveness of domestic suppliers against international peers as power-management chips gain importance amid rising system complexity and power demand for platforms such as NVIDIA’s next-generation Vera Rubin. Omdia data show Infineon controls roughly one-fifth of the global power semiconductor market, while Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba and Rohm each hold under 5%; the three-way consolidation could propel the combined group toward the top of global market share.

Interim president RODRIGUEZ said Venezuela's oil production is expected to reach 1.4 mln b/d by year-end.