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Here go the top personal finance news of the day:

A preliminary industry data showed that India’s petrol and diesel consumption fell in the first half of July. Diesel sales declined by 15 percent to 2.96 million tonnes between July 1 and 15 as compared to the same period last year. According to data, Sales of petrol declined by 10.5 percent to 1.25 million tonnes in the first half of July as against the same period last year. The decline was attributed to the monsoon which spoiled travel plans for many and the fall in demand in the agriculture sector for running tractors and diesel generators. Meanwhile Cooking Gas LPG sales were also down by 6.3 percent year-on-year to 1.27 million tonnes in July 1-15.

Air services to Jaffna to be increased

Alliance air is planning to increase the frequency between Chennai and Sri Lanka’s Jaffna (FULL STOP). Earlier, the airline planned to operate the flight four times a week((Pause)) Now it has decided to fly daily owing to the growing demand. It was announced earlier this month that the frequency of flights between Chennai and Jaffna will be increased by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia during the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) annual convention hosted in Colombo.

Axis bank hikes FD rates

Axis Bank has increased the interest rates on its fixed deposits. For amounts below 2 crore rupees((PAUSE)) the lender has raised the interest rates by 10 basis points. For tenures ranging from seven days to ten years((PAUSE)) the bank is offering interest rates between 3.5 percent and 7.2 percent. The latest fixed deposit interest rates offered by the bank is 3.5 percent for deposits maturing in 7 to 45 days 4 percent for deposits maturing in 46 to 60 days. The highest interest rate offered by the bank is on tenure of 16 months to less than 17 months by 10 bps to 7.2 percent. Axis bank has said its in its website that the new rates will be applicable from July 17, 2023.

IDBI launces ‘Amrit Mahotsav FD’

The private lender has launched a new FD scheme called ‘Amrit Mahotsav FD’ . The special scheme will be available till Aug 15, 2023. General customers can get 7.1% interest on 375 day deposits. While senior citizens can get 7.6% interest on deposits of 375 days. IDBI Bank is also offering Amrit Mahotsav FD for 444 days with 7.65% interest rate to senior citizens and 7.15% to others on callable fixed deposits of 444 days.

SBI raises MCLR by 5bps

SBI has hiked the marginal cost of funds based lending rate(Pause) MCLR by 5 basis points. The bank’s website has said that the MCLR rates will now ranging between 8 percent and 8((point))75 percent. Meanwhile the overnight MCLR rate has been raised by 5 bps to 8 percent from 7.9 percent. For tenures of one month and three months ((pause)) the MCLR has been hiked from 8.1 percent to 8.15 percent. On the other hand-the six month MCLR now stands at 8.45 percent. For one year MCLRs the interest rates stands at 8.55 percent. The MCLR is the lowest interest rate at which a bank can make a loan to a customer.

Bajaj Finserve launches new fund

Bajaj Finserv has announced the launch of Bajaj Finserv Money Market Fund. This is an open ended debt scheme-investing in money market instruments with relatively low-interest rate risk and moderate credit risk.The scheme opened today July 17 and closes on July 20. If you miss the last day…then don’t worry the scheme re-opens for continuous sale and repurchase within five business days from the date of allotment.

BMW reports 5% growth in India sales

Speaking of shifting gears-German automaker BMW Group reported a 5 percent year on year growth in total car sales in India at5,867 units in the first half of 2023. This comes on the back of record volumes. Its premium motor cycle segment too saw more than 50 percent jump under the BMW Motorrad brand at 4,667 units in January-June period this year. Overall, its been a good first half for BMW– selling 5,476 units of BMW branded vehicles and 391 units of MINI. This is in fact the highest ever half-yearly sales in India.

Govt slashes Tomato prices by Rs 10

The govt has decided to sell tomatoes at 80 rupees per kg after wholesale prices declined across North India. Earlier-tomatoes were priced at 90 rupees per kg. But after a reassessment of the situation the govt decided to sell the vegetable at a lower price. Sales of subsidised tomatoes commenced in several outlets across North India including Delhi-NCR and Lucknow by NAFED and NCCF. This move comes at a time when tomato prices skyrocketted in the last week of June owing to falling production in key states like Karnataka and Maharashtra. Supplies were further disrupted by heavy rainfall in states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

FPIs on a buying spree

The first half of July saw foreign portfolio investors pouring 30,600 crore rupees in the Indian equity market. This was primarily driven by the country’s robust economic growth and strong corporate earnings. If the trend continues then FPIs will in July will exceed the figures recorded in May and June. Back in May the FPI inflows stood at 43,838 crore rupees and 47,148 crore rupees respectively. As per the data from the depositories—the inflow in the equity market touched 1.07 lakh crore rupees so far this year. Coming to the sectors—FPIs continue to invest in FMCG, financials, automobiles, realty and capital goods. Buying in these sectors prompted the surge in prices of stocks((pause)) pushing up the benchmark indices to record highs.