Morrisons has unveiled a further round of “deep” price cuts as it aims to compete in the challenging grocery market.

Morrisons has unveiled a further round of “deep” price cuts as it aims to compete in the challenging grocery market.

It is cutting the price on 130 “shopping basket staples” by an average of 22%, across branded and own-label products.

Last month the rest of the big four also launched price campaigns. Tesco reduced prices of hundreds of branded products by an average of 25%, Asda said it will invest £300m in lower prices this year while Sainsbury’s unveiled price cuts on 700 items as they all aim to claw back ground lost to the discounters.

Morrisons has suffered from declining sales and profits in the face of increasing pressure from the market. The grocer’s boss Dalton Philips pays the price today as he steps down from the business. The retailer said last month it needed a “fresh pair of eyes” to lead its turnaround.

Morrisons’ latest manoeuvre will bring down the prices on items such as bread, milk, butter, eggs, coffee, sugar, fruit juice and pasta, by up to 56%.

A Wharburton’s white medium loaf has been reduced from £1.45 to £1 while Morrisons’ milk, four pints, will sell at £1, down from £1.39.

Morrisons noted that the grocery sector’s price cuts, which it said are “led by Morrisons”, are an important contributor to the falling rate of inflation highlighted by the Bank of England last week.

Morrisons group marketing and customer director Nick Collard said: “These are ongoing lower price cuts, not promotions. The price cuts we have now made across products that customers buy week in, week out, are making a real difference to the cost of the weekly family shop.”