Supermarket soars to most expensive for basics after hiking price of essential 13 per cent in a week

Shoppers had hoped they'd seen the last of huge price hikes in their weekly shop, but one supermarket has hiked the cost of a staple product by almost 13 per cent since last week.

Our weekly comparison of the six main supermarkets has tracked the price of eight items - mince, chicken, a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter and beans - for more than two years now.

Following huge price hikes last year, things had started to slow down somewhat, much to the relief of shoppers, many of whom have been struggling to make ends meet throughout the cost of living crisis.

Read more: Shoppers racing to get their hands on Aldi's new £1.99 ice creams

So the fact that Tesco has increased the price of its 300g pack of two chicken breasts from £2.35 to £2.65 since last week, is not good news.

It brings the cost of its basket of essentials up from £12.32 to £12.62, making it the most expensive of the lot.

Lidl remains cheapest for the second week running with a price of £12.11, followed by Aldi's £12.14, Morrisons' £12.27 and Sainsbury's and Asda, both £12.33.

Aldi disputes the results of our weekly comparison, saying that it does not take into account like-for-like products or ‘the higher quality’ of its products. The supermarket says, for example, that Aldi beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury's and that Aldi teabags are 'better quality than the comparative products used'.