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Emma Gill & Neil Shaw

Prices up across the supermarkets this week with a new 'most expensive'

A shopper who has been comparing the prices of identical basic items at supermarkets week on week says Morrison's took an unfortunate crown in the latest battle of the bills - coming out more expensive than Sainsbury's. Emma Gill of the MEN has been buying the same items at different shops to give a week-on-week analysis of how prices are changing.

She has been buying the same eight items at Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince. Last week MEN found that Lidl was the cheapest for all eight products, coming in at £9.82.

Emma said: "Despite it putting up the price of milk and butter this week, it has still kept its bill lower than any of the other stores, at £9.91. The biggest shock however is Morrisons, which just three weeks ago was wearing the cheapest crown itself, with a bill of £9.78 for the shopping basket.

"Now it's coming in at £10.91 and working out as the most expensive of all - taking the unfortunate spot from Sainsbury's for the first time. Three separate increases have put it there this week - its cheapest loaf of bread rising from 39p to 54p, chicken up to £2.49 for a 300g pack of two breasts and mince rising from £1.89 to £2.19.

"Those meat prices are higher than any of the other supermarkets and the mince is 50p more expensive than the cheapest, which is Asda's new Just Essentials pack for £1.69. It's not just Morrisons putting prices up though.

"Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury's have joined the others in putting the cost of 2 pints of milk up to £1.05 from 99p, the latter two also increasing the cost of their chicken. And Lidl has increased the cost of its butter from £1.69 to £1.72, albeit still selling it cheaper than elsewhere."

A number of organisations run price comparisons week on week. The Grocer, for example, has been comparing prices at supermarkets for 20 years. In its latest chart a basket of food at Morrisons was £51.74 while the same basket at Sainsbury's was £52.82.

The Grocer figures saw the Tesco bill at £52.21, Asda at £51.69, Waitrose at £66.05, Aldi at £45.88 and Lidl coming in cheapest at £45.64.

Which? uses a basket of 18 items to compare - and puts Sainsbury's at £27.32 while Morrisons came in at £27.06. Lidl was cheapest at £23.55.

Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket in the MEN test (as o f Friday, June 17)

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £99p

Salted butter 250g - £1.72 (up from £1.69)

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £1.99

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £9.91 (up from £9.82)

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 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

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 - £1.99

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.04

Tesco

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

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 (up from £2.20)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.32 (up from £10.21)

Sainsbury's

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

Coffee 200g £2 (up from £1.69)

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.75 (down from £1.90)

Beans 400g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.40 (up from £2.30)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (down from £2.10)

Total £10.75 (up from £10.64)

Morrisons

Loaf of white bread 800g - 54p (up from 39p)

Milk 2 pints - £1.05

Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.50

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

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 410g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.49 (up from £2.05)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.19 (up from £1.89)

Total £10.91 (up from £10.02)

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