Singapore an New York City have been named as the world's most expensive cities. Photo / Hu Chen; Colton Duke; Unsplash
Singapore an New York City have been named as the world's most expensive cities. Photo / Hu Chen; Colton Duke; Unsplash
Two cities now share the title of ‘most expensive place to live’ after the Economist’s Intelligence Unit revealed how the cost of living crisis has shaken up its annual Worldwide Cost of Living rankings.
New York and Singapore overtook Tel Aviv as joint most expensive cities. Those planning a shopping trip to the Big Apple or the Straits may feel it in the pocket, due to strong US currency and inflation.
This was the first time the US city has topped the Worldwide Cost of Living table since the EIU began the survey of 172 cities. Prices rose 8.1 per cent on average, the fastest rate for two decades.
The EIU tied the experience of rising costs to the absence of China and war in Europe.
The two cities feeling the pinch most were both in the Russian Federation. Moscow and St Petersburg climbed 88 and 70 places respectively in the rankings.
“The war in Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia and China’s zero-Covid policies have caused supply-chain problems that, combined with rising interest rates and exchange-rate shifts, have resulted in a cost-of-living crisis across the world,” said Upasana Dutt, the EIU’s head of Worldwide Cost of Living.
So what does this mean for travel?
Despite it being more expensive to get there, many destinations have become cheaper relative to the index. Europe and Japan have seen the biggest falls in costs.
“Of the top ten biggest fallers in our rankings, European cities such as Luxembourg and Stockholm account for five,” said the EIU’s report.
Japan may be less expensive than visitors remember. Tokyo and Osaka fell 19 and 23 index points respectively, due to weak Yen versus the US dollar and relatively slow easing of pandemic restrictions.
The strong US dollar means that many American holiday makers may be emboldened to book more overseas travel, despite the rising cost of living at home.
However the cost of travel is still eye-wateringly high due to fuel prices.
The product most affected by price rises is petrol, prices of which have risen by an average of 22 per cent across all 172 cities. This has been compounded by inflation and the US currency’s use to price oil, affecting everything from aviation fuel to local transport.
“We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with the average price rise across the 172 cities in our survey being the strongest we’ve seen in the 20 years for which we have digital data,” said Dutt.
However he expects to see prices easing in the new year as supply bottle-necks ease.
Osaka saw one of the biggest falls in the cost of living index. Photo / Fahrul Asmi, Unsplash
