The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Jan. 31, edition that grocery store product suppliers are continuing to ask for cost increases, though the volume and the size of such requests have been moderating, says Metro chief executive officer Eric La Fleche. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky Robertson writes that Mr. La Fleche expects most price increases to be in the mid-single-digit percentage range. He says, "We're negotiating hard to bring it down and delaying as much as we can, some of the increases requested by our suppliers." Metro reported that its food basket inflation was about 4 per cent in first quarter, a 12-week period that ended Dec. 23, lower than the rate of food inflation measured by Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index over the same period. It was also more moderate than the 5.5-per-cent inflation Metro reported in the previous quarter. On Tuesday, Metro reported that its sales rose by 6.5 per cent in the first quarter, to nearly $5-billion. On Tuesday, Metro also announced a 10.7-per-cent increase to its quarterly dividend paid to shareholders, to 33.5 cents per share. Same-store sales were up 6.1 per cent at Metro's grocery stores and 3.9 per cent at pharmacies.