Asda's low-priced fresh fruit has helped the store become the cheapest retailer for the tenth consecutive week. The £52.95 basket contained pears that were 28p cheaper than its nearest rivals - Sainsbury's and Tesco - and bananas that were 15p less than those at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons, the next-cheapest retailers. Asda also sold Bell's Old Scotch Whisky for a particularly cheap £12. Tesco provided the second-cheapest whisky price, at £13.49, and replaced Morrisons in second position with a £54.97 basket. Although it couldn't match Asda's prices for bananas, pears and lettuce, Tesco equalled its prices for 26 of the products on the list, and both After Eights and Soreen Malt Loaf were 1p less than Asda's price. Sainsbury's was the third-cheapest retailer for a second week, with a £55.07 basket. Its prices largely matched Tesco while it offered the lettuce for 10p less, and its own-label kippers were, at £2.86, the cheapest on the list. But the Birds Eye chicken curry and Bell's whisky were significantly higher in price than this week's front runners. And what happened at Morrisons? Only 7p dearer than Asda last week, this week it was £4.33 more expensive. At £15.65, the Bell's Old Scotch Whisky was more expensive than any other retailer and the iceberg lettuce rose 30p from last week. With a basket costing £60.35, Waitrose was not the most expensive retailer this week, but it was still some way off fourth place, raising questions against its recent commitment to lower prices. Waitrose actually raised the price of its iceberg lettuce by 20p. Its own-label foods were once again more expensive than its competitors. Scotch eggs were 52p more than Somerfield. And own-label kippers were almost double the price of Sainsbury's. Somerfield had the priciest basket at £61.76. Twenty-one products on its list were more expensive than any of the other retailers' lists.

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