British grocers battle with price cuts

London -- Two large grocery chains in Britain have started cutting shelf prices in what could shape up as a full-scale price war, sources said Friday.

Tesco, the largest grocery chain in the country, said it would cut prices of 3,000 items by up to 50 percent, The Times of London reported.

The price-cutting started with rival Asda saying it would sell 10 different staple items, such as bread, butter and eggs, for about $1.

Asda said it wanted to help consumers "fight back against inflation," the Guardian reported.

With food price inflation running about 9 percent in Britain, sales at discount grocery chains have taken off as shoppers, and now stores, have reacted to tighter consumer budgets, the Times said.

Sales at discount chain Aldi have risen 20 percent in the past month with store traffic increasing 25 percent in the past three months, The Times said.

Stores are putting a friendly spin on their efforts to lure in customers.

"As our customers face tougher times we are doing everything we can to help them make ends meet," a Tesco spokeswoman said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.