Wal-Mart prices said to beat rivals’

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had lower pricing than two smaller discount rivals for back-to-school shopping, a Bloomberg analysis shows.

Wal-Mart beat Target Corp.’s prices by 7.2 percent on a basket of 34 products in mid-August, wider than the 6.6 percent difference in July, Bloomberg Industries analysts said. Wal-Mart beat Sears Holdings Corp.’s Kmart chain by 32 percent on a group of 43 items.

Wal-Mart has restored thousands of items to shelves and said it is committed to widening its price lead over other merchants to win customers concerned their jobs may not be secure. Excluding fuel, sales at US Wal-Mart stores open at least a year declined 0.9 percent in the second quarter.