Supermarket price war: Morrisons slash prices on 1,000 products

The UK's fourth largest grocer said this week it will slash the cost of staples such as fruit and vegetables by an average of 19%.

It then said it will launch a rolling programme of reductions that will see the price of selected items cut for a minimum of three months.

The Bradford-based chain said its cuts this week, which will cover such items as potatoes, plums, peppers and broccoli, will include 1,072 products in total.

The move comes as the country's main four supermarkets - Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - battle to hold on to market share against discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The ongoing price war has seen supermarket prices fall for more than the last year.

Chief executive David Potts said: "We continue to listen carefully to customers and they have told us they want lower prices, particularly on fresh food and everyday essentials."

Last month Morrisons said customers were coming back to its stores as it posted a surprise rise in festive sales after its best Christmas for four years.

The grocer, which runs just under 500 stores, reported a 0.2% rise in sales at established stores, excluding fuel, in the nine weeks to January 3 in a marked turnaround after recent hefty sales declines.

Figures for the six weeks to January 3 showed an even better performance, with like-for-like sales up 0.5%.

But Morrisons added last month it would close another seven stores despite the improved trading, putting around 680 jobs at risk.

The closures follow its announcement last September that it was shutting 11 stores, impacting around 900 jobs.

As well as the recent store closures, Morrisons also agreed the sale of 140 local convenience stores last September for around £25 million to concentrate on its larger supermarkets.

Analysts at Shore Capital said the move was "another notch in its progress to being a more distinctive value orientated superstore group".