Subsiding price rises have left well over 1,000 savings accounts offering consumers inflation-beating interest rates, experts have pointed out.
Inflation eased to 3.2% in March, data from the ONS showed on Wednesday, prompting Moneyfacts to highlight 1,364 savings accounts where rates were higher than this.
Some 162 of these were easy access, Moneyfacts said, with the best such rate offered by NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG)’s Ulster Bank at 5.2%.
Hundreds of notice accounts and variable rate individual savings accounts (ISAs) also offered the above inflation rates, alongside 615 fixed-rate bonds.
“Savers should be filling their boots at this news,” Hargreaves Lansdown’s Sarah Coles commented.
“These deals aren’t going to last forever. As inflation comes under control, banks will price in more rate cuts, and savings deals will drop.”
According to Moneyfacts, SmartSave’s 5.17% one-year fixed-rate bond was among the best on offer in the UK on Wednesday, with more than 5% also being available on two-year deals.
Up to 4.95% was guaranteed on a five-year fixed bond by UBL UK, against 4.54% and 4.85% on its four and three-year deals respectively.
Such high rates on savings accounts and bonds, which offer guaranteed returns, have given consumers a chance to secure earnings in real terms without the prospect of losing funds on the stock market.
Indeed, “investing creates the potential to increase your money over time and receive higher rewards long term,” Lånea finance expert Nina Appelgren commented.
“However, it does not come without risk,” she added.
Moneyfacts’ Rachel Springall urged savers to act quickly to secure above-inflation offers before they were taken off the market.
“Inflation eats away at savers’ hard-earned cash, so it’s worth keeping this in mind when comparing different savings accounts to ensure they are earning a decent real return,” she said.