Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said:

“Savers have been dealt another blow this month as inflation rises once more and is unbeatable with any standard savings account. Despite a slight uplift to some of the top savings rates since last month’s inflation announcement, rising inflation is not allowing any respite. While the Bank of England predicts such a level to be temporary, even the Government target of 2% cannot be beaten unless savers lock into a five-year fixed bond.

“There are still savers out there waiting for the December 2021 base rate rise to be passed onto them, let alone the most recent uplift of 0.25% a couple of weeks ago. Those savers with the patience to wait may wish to reconsider their loyalty, particularly as they will not find a high-street bank featured in the top rate tables. Challenger banks and building societies dominate the top of the market both for variable and fixed rate deals, including ISAs. Sadly, those savers who are adamant to use their ISA allowance will find a gap between rates offered on ISAs versus those outside of tax-free wrapper, even taking to account some new market-leaders this month. If savers are assessing bonds and ISAs, then it’s vital they consider their Personal Savings Allowance foremost.

“Those savers who prefer to have their cash close to hand in an easy access account or easy access ISA may have noticed a few prominent deals surface in recent weeks, but some have already been pulled or cut. Aldermore had a market-leading 0.75% easy access account (Double Access Account) which was around for just a week and Cynergy Bank opened its Online ISA to new customers but also cut its rate down from 0.65% to 0.60%. As it stands, Cynergy Bank and Investec Bank plc both lead the easy access market at 0.71% (Online Easy Access Account and Online Flexi Saver), and Paragon Bank launched a new easy access ISA (Triple Access Cash ISA) paying 0.65% last week which leads its sector. However, as we have seen before with challenger banks, the highest rates can get taken up very quickly. Savers would therefore be wise to act quickly or may be left disappointed. Signing up to newsletters and checking top rate tables regularly is wise to keep up with changes.”

*Data note: Please note that these savings product numbers only include deals that are available to UK residents (easy access, notice, fixed rate bonds, variable or fixed ISAs) and exclude regular savers and children’s savers (this figure does not count each interest payment option for each account), based on a £10,000 deposit. Higher rates may be available for other levels of deposit.