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Emma Gill & Sonia Sharma

The supermarkets selling the cheapest basic items as costs continue to rise

A new supermarket has taken the cheapest spot for basic items, a weekly analysis of prices has shown.

The Manchester Evening News has been comparing prices of essentials like milk and bread, running a regular price comparison test - and this week a new supermarket has swiped the cheapest crown.

Shopping at Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, they've been looking at the cost of the same eight items - a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince.

Read More: We compared Aldi cereals to leading brands - and the results amazed us

In the most recent comparison the overall shopping bill had risen at all but one supermarket. The only one costing less was Sainsbury's, but it still remained the most expensive of the lot.

And it was Morrisons which took the cheapest spot for the first time, swiping it from Asda which held it for four weeks running.

This week the overall shopping bill has risen at three supermarkets - Morrisons, Aldi and Sainsbury's. The first two due partly to a rise in the cost of milk. They, along with Asda, have put a two-pint bottle up from 99p to £1.05.

In fact, Morrisons has put the cost of three items up altogether - also increasing the cost of its Savers coffee from 70p to 75p a jar and its Savers teabags up from 55p to 59p for a pack of 80.

Asda has actually come down in price since the last comparison. Despite the cost of its milk and chicken rising, the addition of fresh mince to its new Just Essentials range - at £1.69 a pack compared with its previous £1.90 - mean its total is down from £10.08 to £10.02.

At Tesco and Lidl there were no price changes at all and it's the latter that takes this week's cheapest crown, with a total of £9.82 - the only one to keep the bill under £10.

The only slight difference in sizes among our shopping is the baked beans, which range from 400g in Sainsbury's and 410g in Asda and Morrisons, to the standard 420g in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco. And where the 300g packs of chicken differ at 330g and 350g, the test worked out the equivalent price for a fairer comparison

Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket (as of Friday, June 10)

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 99p

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £99p

Salted butter 250g - £1.69

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £1.99

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £9.82

Morrisons

Loaf of white bread 800g - 39p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.50 (up from £1.40)

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.18 (up from £1.10)

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 410g tin - 21p

Chicken (bigger 330g pack for £2.25) - equates to £2.05

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.02 (up from £9.78)

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 39p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.50

Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 25p

Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.65) - equates to £2.27 (up from £2.55 / £2.18)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.69 (down from £1.90)

Total£10.02 (down from £10.08)

Aldi

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £1.99

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.04 (up from £9.98 last week)

Tesco

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 99p

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.70

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £2.20

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89

Total £10.21

Sainsbury's

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 99p

Coffee 200g - £1.69

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.90 (up from £1.80)

Beans 400g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.30

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.10

Total £10.64 (up from £10.54)

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