Asda has kept a tight grip on the cheapest retailer title this week, but Tesco fought off stiff competition to clinch second place. The competition between Morrisons and Tesco remained fierce this week, with just 10p separating the totals compared with 5p last week. Tesco equalled or undercut Asda's prices on a whopping 29 items to produce a £39.45 basket, whereas Morrisons managed to match or undercut 21. It was a quiet week for price changes, however. Tesco made only one, to Cathedral City, which it reduced by 10p to match Asda's £1.67 price, making it the joint lowest on the list. Aside from a 6p hike to the Müller yoghurt, Morrisons made no increases or cuts, but its £39.55 basket included the cheapest Twix biscuits at £1.48 and the priciest Hula Hoops at £1.19. And a 9p reduction on butter was the only price change at Asda. Its £38.67 basket contained the cheapest bagged apples and premium pork sausages on the list at 77p and £4.36 respectively. Sainbury's had made enough price cuts in the past few weeks to vie for a top three position, but a couple of price hikes meant Morrisons and Tesco provided cheaper baskets this week. Sainsbury's slipped back to fourth place with a £40.28 total. Its promotion on Kellogg's Corn Flakes ended and the price went back up to £1.43, in line with prices at the rest of the retailers. It also increased the price of Müller yoghurt by 12p. However, it offered the priciest premium pork sausages on the list at £5.20, ramping up its total. With a £42.16 basket, Somerfield escaped the most expensive retailer position for another week and provided four of the cheapest items on the list - significantly more than it usually does. These included the bakery loaf, chicken, ice cream and Tetley tea bags. Despite cutting the tuna chunks by 43p, Waitrose had the most expensive basket at £45.01 and had 13 of the priciest items.

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