In a first, Starbucks lowers price of some drinks

* Cutting prices for first time on some popular drinks

* Prices could go down 5 to 10 cents in some markets

* Some large drink prices to go up by 25 cents

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Coffee chain Starbucks Corp
(SBUX.O), which for years raised prices without any customer
pushback, said on Thursday that it is cutting prices for the
first time on some drinks while boosting prices on others.

The company, which announced in April that it would join
other restaurant operators in fine-tuning pricing amid weak
consumer demand, will cut the price of popular beverages like
small coffees and lattes by 5 to 10 cents in every market,
spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said.

Prices for large, complex drinks such as frappuccinos and
macchiatos could go up by as much as 25 cents in some markets,
but on average prices will increase between 10 and 15 cents,
O'Neil said, without naming specific markets.

The changes are effective in some markets on Thursday and
will be rolled out to the remainder of the United States in
coming months.

Starbucks pricing varies from market to market.

Starbucks expanded rapidly during the housing boom and has
been closing stores, cutting costs and introducing discounts to
offset falling traffic.

At the same time, hamburger chain McDonald's Corp (MCD.N)
has begun focusing on coffee drinks as part of a wider beverage
expansion.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein, editing by Matthew Lewis)