Only nine savings accounts of 780 on the market are paying out interest rates higher than the level of inflation, after official figures published today showed that prices rose by 1.9% in November.

Rising bills at the petrol pump pushed inflation up towards the 2% target last month, rising from 1.5% in October and a five-year low of 1.1% in September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

That has triggered a crisis in the savings market, with experts warning that more than 99% of the 2.9 million Britons who pay the higher rate of tax are currently losing money on their nest eggs.

The latest rise in inflation means higher-rate taxpayers need to secure at least 3.17% gross interest to maintain their savings pot - but only nine variable-rate savings account currently do so.

The picture was barely better for basic-rate tax-payers, who need to secure an interest rate of 2.4% to avoid the value of their cash being eroded. Almost one in 10 of the savings accounts on the market are paying less than this.

Andrew Hagger of Moneynet said: "The inflation surge spells further misery for savers."

He warned savers not to let banks "profit at your expense by letting the value of savings dwindle in an account offering a derisory rate of return."

State-backed banks, including NatWest and Lloyds, are among the most miserly, paying rates as low as 0.1%.

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Economists today warned that inflation will top 3% when the temporary cut in VAT from 17.5% to 15% is reversed after New Year.

That would force Bank of England Governor Mervyn King to write a letter to the Chancellor to explain why inflation is so far above target.

However, the rise is set to be brief, with most forecasters expecting inflation to fall back below 2% later in the year as growth remains subdued.

"This spike up should prove temporary," said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.

But he added: "It does little to dilute belief that interest rates will stay down at 0.5% until at least the final months of 2010."

However, David Page of Investec said rates could rise before the end of next year.

He said: "We suspect that across the course of 2010, the Bank will raise rates away from current emergency levels. We are pencilling in the first rate hike around mid-year."

The retail prices index (RPI) rate of inflation, which includes housing costs, rose to 0.3% from 0.8% in October.