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Chronicle Live
Business
Emma Gill & Daniel Hall

One supermarket's price rise takes the cost of basic buys to a new high

The cost of basics has hit a new high at the six main supermarkets, with the bill at every store now in double figures.

Families are continuing to be hit hard by the cost of living crisis, and because of this colleagues at the Manchester Evening News have been comparing the prices of essentials such as milk and bread to help shoppers find the cheapest available. And for the first time since the comparison started in March, the bill for all supermarkets has surpassed £10, despite not a single one of them reaching double figures four months ago.

Included in the weekly basics shop are eight common items - a two-pint bottle of milk, loaf of bread, coffee, tea bags, butter beans, chicken breasts and mince. Prices have increased continuously, though last week showed a plateau, with just Aldi increasing prices: adding 10p onto its 300g pack of two chicken breasts to hit £2.09

Read more: Six ways you can save money on your food shopping as rising costs hit families

Lidl has followed Aldi's lead and increased its chicken to the same price, meaning that there are now no supermarkets that sell all eight of the products above for less than a tenner. Lidl still remains the cheapest at £10.01, followed by Asda at £10.02 and Aldi at £10.14.

It's an 18p jump to Tesco at £10.32, Sainsbury's at £10.44 (a reduction on the previous week after its budget coffee came back into the stock), with Morrison's being the costliest at £10.81. Morrisons ' meat makes it the most expensive, with chicken £2.49 for a 300g pack and mince at £2.19.

A basics shop in Lidl (Manchester Family/MEN)

Those prices are higher than any of the other supermarkets in the comparison, with its meat being 50p more expensive than Asda's Just Essentials pack, the cheapest at £1.69. The only slight difference in sizes of the shopping was baked beans, which are 400g at Sainsbury's, 410g in Asda and Morrisons, both less than the standard 420g in the other supermarkets.

Asda's pack of chicken is larger, so the equivalent price has been worked out for a fairer comparison. You can see the shopping list and total for each supermarket as of Friday July 1 below.

Where are you finding the cheapest products right now? Let us know!

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £99p

Salted butter 250g - £1.72

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £2.09 (up from £1.99)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.01 (up from £9.91)

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g (Just Essentials) - 39p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.50

Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 25p

Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.65) - equates to £2.27

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.69

Total £10.02

Asda is the second cheapest supermarket for essentials (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

Aldi

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £2.09

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.14

Tesco

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.70

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £2.25

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.32

Tesco's basics come in at £10.32 (Ian Cooper/Daily Post Wales)

Sainsbury's

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee 200g £1.69 (down from £2)

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 400g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.40

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.44 (down from 10.75)

Morrisons

Loaf of white bread 800g - 54p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.40

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.18

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 410g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.49

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.19

Total £10.81

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