SUPERMARKET leader Tesco last night shrugged off the resurgence of rival chains to report another strong Christmas sales performance.

Non-food sales and demand for its premium Tesco Finest range helped UK same-store sales rise 5.7 per cent in the seven weeks to January 7, despite better showings from the likes of Sainsbury's and Morrisons over the festive season.

The improvement was in line with market expectations but clouded by news on Tesco's international arm, where sales rose by 16.1 per cent compared with 23 per cent growth in the previous three months.

Tesco was the last of the main UK supermarket groups to update investors on its Christmas performance following a period of fierce price- cutting in the sector.

Sainsbury's reported growth of 5.2 per cent, while Morrisons showed the early signs of recovery in its own festive update.

Tesco's finance director Andrew Higginson said: "We are delighted that, with the fantastic performance we had last year, we have held on to those gains. To have remained the best performer of the top four is pretty pleasing."

Tesco continued its drive to lure in cautious shoppers by lowering the prices of its goods by about 1.5 per cent on the previous year.

Mr Higginson said that, although consumers had been cautious in recent times, they had treated themselves over Christmas.

There was strong demand for Tesco Finest products and the firm sold 25,000 lobsters over the period.

Tesco's dominance in the supermarket sector has attracted criticism from groups such as Friends of the Earth and the Forum of Private Businesses, which yesterday again accused it of damaging local shops and consumer choice.

Analysts expect pre-tax profits for the year to the end of February to come in at about £2.2bn this year.