Basket of groceries still £1.95 cheaper than last year

Updated

The cost of a basket of groceries is still more than 2% cheaper than this time last year despite a slight increase on last month, a survey shows.

A basket of 35 popular items increased in price by 21p last month as the cost of products such as mushrooms, crisps and pasta rose, comparison website mySupermarket.co.uk found.

Mushrooms saw the biggest price increase of 12% between September and October, on top of a 15% rise the month before, and grapes were up 7%, crisps by 5% and pasta 12%.

Overall the price of 15 items increased while 10 fell, including peppers (3%), carrots (4%) and minced beef (3%).

However the overall price was still £1.95 cheaper than in October last year.

MySupermarket chief executive Gilad Simhony said prices were reflecting shopper and market uncertainty after the Brexit vote, weaker sterling and inflation.

He said: "We've been watching the price of everyday goods closely since June and are seeing a real fluctuation in the cost of groceries month on month.

"Prices looked to have stabilised in September, however October's price increase shows that uncertainty is still having an effect on shoppers."

But he added: "An incredibly competitive arena between the major supermarkets is keeping the cost of goods low even in uncertain times."

Advertisement