Morrisons and Asda slash prices in a battle for shoppers lacking spending Business

Morrisons and Asda have revealed a series of price cuts as supermarkets position themselves as the cheapest option during the cost of living crisis.

Morrisons is slashing the cost of more than 500 items, around 6% of its range, with prices set to fall by an average of 13% for cereals, rice, eggs and coffee.

Meanwhile, Asda announced it was lowering prices on 100 items until the end of 2022. Asda tried to fend off German discounters Aldi and Lidl in a battle over spending by low-income households.

Asda also targeted household staples in its promotion, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, and rice and noodles.

The average price discount on all items in Asda’s deal will be 12%, with the price of John West tuna expected to drop 14% to £3 and the price of own-label rice by 25% to £1 for 500g.

Asda will also raise wages for 120,000 shop workers to £10.10 an hour from July. The wage hike and price hike will together cost the supermarket £73million.

The price of a pack of 30 Morrisons branded eggs will drop from £3.40 to £2.99, while the price of a 430g pack of diced beef will drop from £3.99 to £3.59 .

Food prices rose around 5.2% in March from a year ago, according to the latest official figures, the biggest rise in a decade. Price inflation has encouraged some customers to switch to cheaper options like Aldi and Lidl.