Asda's attempt to record a fourth week as cheapest retailer has been foiled by Morrisons as the price gap between the big four becomes narrower than ever. Only 62p separated Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco from each other after they matched prices on 15 items, ranging from loose onions to the Actimel drink. Morrisons' £41.07 basket was only 16p cheaper than Asda's. It reduced the celery by 18p and cut 6p and 8p off Mr Kipling's Bramley apple pies and Paxo stuffing respectively, making no other price changes. These reductions were only a matter of pennies but when prices are this tightly matched, they have a big impact on the rankings. Whereas Morrisons only made price cuts, Asda raised the price of Actimel by 44p, Branston pickle by 30p and free-range eggs by 9p. Although it reduced the cranberry juice by 11p, making it the cheapest, and had the cheapest Hovis loaf, its HP Sauce was 30p more expensive than the rest of the big four. With a £41.34 basket, Sainsbury's made no price changes this week and managed to knock Tesco, which made three price hikes, off third place. Tesco raised the price of Actimel from £2.00 to £2.68 to match the rest of the big four and added 20p to the celery and 10p to the cranberry juice. Its tomatoes were £1.89 compared with £1.49 at Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's. Somerfield's basket was only £2.86 more expensive than Tesco's and it matched or undercut the retailer on 10 items. These included the Ambrosia creamed rice, the cheapest on the list, and the celery, which was 25p cheaper this week. Waitrose slipped back to being the most expensive retailer with a £46.41 basket. Its own-label digestives, frozen roast potatoes, olive oil and tinned spaghetti were pricier than anywhere else. The only price increase Waitrose made was adding 15p to the Branston pickle - more than Somerfield's hike but less than Asda's 30p increase.

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