Supermarkets to battle on prices

Supermarket giants have announced price promotions to outflank discount stores, which have risen in popularity.

Shoppers feeling the pinch have moved to no-frills stores, experts say, with Aldi and Lidl seeing strong growth.

Now Asda is selling 10 staple items such as bread and eggs for 50p over the weekend, and Tesco says it will cut the cost of 3,000 items on Monday.

Rising food prices were the biggest contributing factor to a big lift in consumer inflation in May.

Price cuts

Asda, owned by the US giant Wal-Mart, is advertising a promotion of basics, including sausages and bananas for 50p, from Friday to Sunday.