Disappointing ISA season sees rates fall but competitive rates still available

With the autumn ISA season now coming to an end, savers will be disappointed to see that despite it being traditionally a time of competitive rates, ISA rates have actually fallen over the last few months.

Research carried out by Moneyfacts.co.uk found that since the 1 September 2019 to today, ISA rates for all terms have fallen with the biggest drop coming from two year fixed rate ISAs, which fell by 0.15%, while easy access ISAs saw the smallest fall of 0.05%. To put this in context, at the start of September, savers could get an average rate of 0.93% on easy access ISAs, 1.27% on one year fixed ISAs, 1.3% on two year fixed ISAs and 1.75% on five year fixed ISAs. Today, the average rate for an easy access ISA is 0.88%, a one year fixed ISA is 1.17%, a two year fixed ISA is 1.15% and a five year fixed ISA is 1.61%.

Currently, easy access ISAs have the most deals with 150 products available, an increase from 149 on the market at the start of September. There has also been an increase in products in the two and five year fixed ISA charts, with 79 two year fixed ISA products and 31 five year fixed ISA products available, an increase from 71 and 29 products respectively. However, one year fixed ISAs saw the total number of products fall during the autumn ISA season, from 71 available at the start of September to 68 available today.

Despite a disappointing ISA season for savers, there are still some competitive deals available and some providers are increasing rates. For example, today Aldermore increased the rate on its 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA, which is now paying 1.50% gross on maturity and is second in the one year fixed ISA chart. Those looking to lock their money into a long-term ISA will find a highly competitive rate available from UBL UK, which is paying 2.09% gross on maturity on its 5 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA. Within the easy access chart, Virgin Money is paying the highest gross rate of 1.36% yearly on its Double Take E-ISA Issue 12 and its Man Utd Double Take E-ISA Issue 11.

All rates are gross, calculated on a £10,000 deposit.