New York ranked most expensive city along with Singapore, Sydney at 10

A survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit states that New York and Singapore rank as the most expensive cities in the world as a result of strong currencies and high inflation rates globally.

New York was named the joint most expensive city in the world in 2022 by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living Report (File)

By India Today Web Desk: An annual survey has ranked New York as the most expensive city to live in, a title the US city will share with Singapore, which has topped the list eight times in the last 10 years. Sydney in Australia has also featured in the top 10 for the first time.

New York will be the world’s most expensive city in 2022 amid rising energy prices and inflation in major cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey.

Singapore was the equal-second most expensive city in 2021 and has been number 1 in eight of the last 10 years.

The Guardian, citing the survey, reports that for the first time this year the Big Apple has been ranked number 1.

While Sydney moved into the top 10 and Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia rose 88 places in the rankings, Tel Aviv dropped to third place.

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The Venezuelan capital, Caracas, with its 132 percent price increase in 2022, was well below 2019’s hyperinflation rate of more than 25,000 percent, but remained too high to be included in the survey.

Besides gas prices and inflation rates, a strong currency was also a factor driving up the cities’ rankings. Six of the eight highest climbers (followed by two Russian cities) were American cities, led by Atlanta, which moved from 42nd to 46th in the ranking of the 172 cities surveyed. The US Dollar has strengthened against almost all currencies on the back of US Federal Reserve raising interest rates and signs of more hikes ahead.

Cities in countries where their currency has depreciated figure in the list of most expensive cities. Japan’s Tokyo and Osaka were among the 10 biggest drops in 2021, down from 13th and 10th places to 37th and 43rd places, respectively.

Stockholm and Luxembourg fell the most, both falling 38 places to 99th and 104th places respectively. Damascus in Syria and Tripoli in Libya retained their positions as the cheapest cities in the survey.

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