UK inflation rose sharply to 1.6% in December, up from 1.2% in November, on the back of rising fuel, food and air fares.

It hasn't exactly been a good year for savings rates, but we can at least end the year on a bit of a high note, with our latest figures revealing that the fixed sector is beginning to stabilise, with some average rates even edging up!

With inflation at 1.2% and dismal savings rates on offer from high street banks, perhaps it's time to go with one of the challengers.

Leeds Building Society is to launch a top-paying easy access account on Tuesday (6 December).

Those who use in-branch savings accounts are worse off than those who manage their money online, research finds.

The FSCS limit is likely to rise by £10,000 from next year, the Bank of England has said.

It can't be denied that the ISA sector has had a tough time of late, what with the base rate cut and the fallout that followed it, not to mention the launch of the Personal Savings Allowance earlier this year.

Official figures released this morning show that inflation took an unexpected dip in October, with the measure of CPI standing at 0.9%. This is down from 1% in September and marks the first drop since April, and defied many economists' expectations, as they'd forecast a rate of 1.1%

Challenger banks remain top of the best buy tables and are unlikely to be dislodged anytime soon.