There’s been a small decrease in the latest rate – which came as a surprise.
Here, we explain everything you need to know about the latest inflation stats and which savings accounts offer inflation-beating rates.
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What is the current rate of inflation in the UK?
The current CPI rate of inflation in the UK is 2.5% for December 2024, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It was expected to stay at 2.6%.
The current rate of core inflation (which removes more volatile products like food and fuel) in the UK is 3.2%, down from 3.5% last month. Services inflation (which has remained higher than the rest for a while now) fell from 5% to 4.5%.
Meanwhile, RPI (still used in some cases such as rail fares, interest on student loans and air passenger duty) in the UK is down to 3.4%. It was 3.6% last month.
Historic inflation rates
The graph below shows how CPI inflation has changed in the UK.
source: tradingeconomics.com
What is inflation?
The main thing to remember is even if the rate of inflation is falling, prices are still going up. They’re just increasing by a slower rate.
Check out our What are inflation and deflation? article to learn more about what price changes count towards inflation, as well as explanations of the different measures including CPI and RPI.
When is the next inflation announcement?
The next inflation announcement will be on 15 January 2025.
The ONS publishes inflation figures each month and has confirmed the following dates for upcoming announcements :
- 19 February 2025
- 26 March 2025
- 16 April 2025
- 21 May 2025
- 18 June 2025
- 16 July 2025
- 20 August 2025
- 17 September 2025
- 22 October 2025
- 19 November 2025
- 17 December 2025
What’s changed this month?
Hotels and tobacco prices all increased at a higher rate than last month, contributing to the overall inflation rate hike. Though fuel and second hand cars got more expensive faster than last month.
You can see how prices have changed for individual items in this ONS calculator, while this chart shows the annual CPI rates over 12 months for the last three months.
| Nov 2024 | Dec 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| CPI All items | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 6.9 | 5.3 |
| Clothing and footwear | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Housing and household services | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| Furniture and household goods | -0.4 | -0.3 |
| Health | 5.5 | 5.6 |
| Transport | -0.9 | -0.6 |
| Communication | 4.8 | 6.1 |
| Recreation and culture | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Education | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Restaurants and hotels | 4.0 | 3.4 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| All goods | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| All services | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| CPI exc food, energy, alcohol and tobacco (core CPI) | 3.5 | 3.2 |
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Will inflation go up or down?
The Bank of England still think the rate will stabilise around its 2% target, but other factors including the measures announced in the Budget and possible US trade tariffs (both of which are impacting the bond market) mean it’ll take longer to get there.
Predictions are that it’ll actually go up to 3% by the end of this year.
What does it mean for the base rate of interest?
In October, the Bank of England cut the base rate to 4.75% (having previously been cut in August), and the markets thinks there’s a 73% change of another cut to 4,5% in February 2025.
Beyond that there are different predictions. Some say there could be no more. Others think we could be down to 4% by December.
What does it mean for future price increases
October’s inflation rates aren’t linked to any key increases. Here are the main price hikes linked to inflation rates:
- July RPI – rail fares in March
- September CPI – benefits including State Pension in April
- December CPI – student loans in September
Editor’s pick: 5.1% savings
Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 5.1%
What does it mean for savings?
If inflation remains ‘sticky’ and does slow down the base rate cuts, then it’ll mean we see less movement in savings rates.
Do any savings accounts beat inflation?
Despite falling savings rates, we’re still at a place where there are lots of options that beat inflation!
The top-paying savings account is the Principality Building Society Regular Saver which offers 8%, though only for six months. It’s worth noting that this is a “regular savings account”.
This means that you’ll have to meet certain requirements to keep the account open and get the full amount of interest. For example, depositing up to a certain amount each month or limits on how much you can withdraw. (Some don’t permit withdrawals at all.)
You can also earn 6% with the Santander Edge Saver, if you hold a Santander Edge account. If you add direct debits (to earn cashback) on the linked current account there’s a monthly fee for the current account, so keep that in mind when comparing savings rates.
However if you’re looking for accounts without these balance restriction, there are now dozens of easy access and fixed rate savings accounts above the inflation rate.
The best easy access is an ISA from Trading 212 paying 5.05% for new customers (4.9% for existing users). This allow more flexibility and you can deposit and withdraw your money more freely.
Hi Andy, great summary, very professional. I’m still learning about all of these subjects, so thanks for that!
Do you know what to expect regarding the interest rate of the savings accounts? Are the banks planning to reduce the interest rate soon based on the reduction in the UK inflation?
Government controlled ONS will produce low incorrect data for September in order to determine next years pension & benefit increases then “amend” the data by December so the government can claim that it is too late to correct next years increases.