Prices soar and propel New York to the top: here are the most expensive cities in the world
Sylvie Claire / December 1, 2022
New York is, for the first time, at the top of the list of the world's most expensive cities, ex-aequo with Singapore, a regular in the first place, propelled by the global cost of living crisis, according to The Economist.
Prices have soared by an average of 8.1 percent year-on-year (in local currency) in 172 major cities around the world, the largest increase in at least 20 years," according to the Cost of Living Report 2022, published Thursday by the British magazine.
The increases reflect, among other things, the impact of "the war in Ukraine and continuing pandemic-related restrictions (that) are disrupting supply chains" and particularly affect "energy and food."
New York and Singapore - the City-State topped the ranking for the eighth time in ten years - dethroned Tel Aviv, the cultural and economic heart of Israel, which topped the ranking last year.
The strength of the dollar in recent months, a safe haven in times of crisis, has pushed up the rankings for U.S. cities, since the rankings are based on the conversion of prices into U.S. dollars, which automatically translates into lower prices outside the United States.
Los Angeles thus climbs to fourth place and San Francisco to eighth.
The top 10 also includes Hong Kong, Zurich, Geneva, Paris and latecomers Copenhagen and Sydney.
Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen their prices soar and jump in the rankings - the Russian capital is up 88 places to 37th - due to the effect of Western sanctions and a buoyant energy market that supports the ruble, notes The Economist.
But most other European cities are going down, as the energy crisis and weakening economies have weighed on the euro and local currencies.