Australia's consumer watchdog is suing the country's two biggest supermarket chains, alleging they falsely claimed to have permanently dropped the prices of hundreds of items.

Australia's consumer watchdog sued the Oceania country's two largest supermarkets on Monday, accusing Coles and Woolworths of misleading customers by misrepresenting hundreds of products as being discounted.

Australia’s competition regulator said it is suing Woolworths and Coles, the country’s two largest grocery chains, for misleading customers with their discount pricing.