People hoping for offers of even better interest rates on their savings pots may well have missed the boat as a flurry of hikes by lenders looks to have ended, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.
Alongside those on mortgages, savings rates have climbed this year on the back of Britain’s rising base interest, as set by the Bank of England.
The effects of this cycle on savings rates may now have worn off, according to Hargreaves, with current deals likely representing a peak in the amount of interest people can expect to be paid on stowed-away pots of money.
“Wait-and-see savers are refusing to make a move, despite the fact the market may well have peaked,” Hargreaves Lansdown personal finance head Sarah Coles said.
“When we asked people why they were staying put, one in ten said they were waiting for rates to go higher.
“Unfortunately, it looks distinctly unlikely.”
After a fair amount of scrutiny earlier this year, rates on savings accounts steadily climbed as speculation grew over how high the Bank of England would lift the base rate in its battle to stem inflation.
Following a better-than-expected inflation reading in August, which was followed by the central bank’s decision to hold the base rate at 5.25% in late September, interest rates on both mortgages and savings accounts have subsided.
“The most competitive deals among longer fixed rates were already falling when the Bank of England paused rate rises in September,” Coles pointed out.
“Now NS&I has withdrawn the one-year deal that was propping up that part of the market, we’re likely to see savings rates gradually drift south from here.”
According to Coles, rates of almost and above 6% represent the “great deals” which remain on the market.
“They’re the kind of rates you’d have given your right arm for over the past decade,” she added.