Asda has passed the 100-day mark as the UK's cheapest retailer - while Tesco dropped from second place to fourth after its price hikes outweighed its cuts.
Five of Asda's items were the cheapest in The Grocer 33 list this week - by sizeable margins.
The item that really helped it keep the competition at bay was its lamb chops, which it slashed from £10.97 to £7.32 this week to match last week's price at Morrisons. Tesco also reduced its lamb chops but only from £11.98 to £10.97, while Morrisons raised the price of its chops to £8.99.
But Asda also managed significant differentials elsewhere. Its Gillette razors were more than £1 less than the next cheapest and the Wall's Viennetta and Nescafé were 39p and 26p cheaper, respectively. Unlike Sainsbury's and Somerfield, Asda didn't reduce the pears but still offered them for 80p - the cheapest on the list.
Morrisons, once again in second place, did not follow Asda and Tesco in raising the price of the Bell's whisky, keeping it at £14.25, a hefty £1.73 less than the rest of the big four. Lowering the cost of bread rolls and eggs helped Morrisons achieve its £65.79 total, and it also provided the cheapest Cadbury Dairy Milk.
Sainsbury's beat Tesco to the position of third-cheapest retailer this week, undercutting it on the Cheddar by £1.60 and offering the most competitively priced apples.
Tesco made a number of price changes. The increases on Bell's whisky, Branston pickle and Cadbury Dairy Milk added up to £3.27 whereas the cuts to lamb chops, potatoes and onions totalled £1.36. Tesco matched 20 of Asda's prices, while Sainsbury's matched 16, but the combination of its price increases and Sainsbury's cheaper Cheddar resulted in a £69.26 total that landed it in fourth place.
Despite increasing the price of Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cheddar, Waitrose offered the cheapest free-range eggs, which helped it to retain fifth position. Somerfield was again the priciest retailer as it only reduced its pears by 10p and had 18 of the most expensive items.
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