To The Moon

Singapore has once again been ranked as the most expensive city to live in, sharing the top spot with New York City this year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 

This is the eighth time in 10 years that Singapore topped the list. Both Singapore and New York City knocked last year's leader, Tel Aviv, down to third place thanks to higher inflation and stronger currencies, the EIU reported in its new Worldwide Cost of Living survey of 172 cities.

According to the survey, the average price of goods in local currency terms surged by 8.1% this year, citing a poll that the firm conducted between Aug. 16 and Sept. 16. That's up from the 3.5% rise in prices reported by the EIU's 2021 survey.

Supply chain disruptions from China's zero-Covid policy and the Russia-Ukraine war were two key reasons for higher inflation this year, Upasana Dutt, head of Worldwide Cost of Living at EIU, told CNBC. 

"These two combined together placed a lot more pressure on access to goods and availability of products that account for [the] very basic necessities of people. And both of these together, then drove inflation across the world," she said. 

The research and analysis firm found that the steepest price increase was for petrol. On average, petrol prices rose by 22% from the year before.

Oil prices have been "very, very extreme" and "one of the highest that we've ever recorded in the history of our data collection," Dutt said. High inflation in the U.S.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by 375 basis points so far this year in light of persistently high inflation, and a smaller rate hike could happen in December.

That has given a significant boost to the U.S. dollar, making goods more expensive. 

"New York has appeared in this list for the very first time. So for the U.S. dollar to strengthen so much and get to where it is now, it is quite unusual," Dutt said. 

Other cities in the U.S. also rose in the index because of the strong greenback, EIU said. 

Los Angeles rose from ninth place in 2021 to fourth this year. San Francisco — which did not make the top 10 last year — is now the eighth most expensive city to live in.

Six of the 10 cities that made the biggest jumps were also in the United States. They include Atlanta, San Diego and Boston.

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Singapore's top spot came as no surprise.

The country "has the world's highest transport prices, owing to strict government controls on car numbers. It is also among the most expensive cities for clothing, alcohol and tobacco, thanks to its success as a premier location for business investment," the report said. 

The city shared the second spot with Paris last year, so it is "very much where it has always been," Dutt said. 

The top 10

Here are the world's most expensive cities to live in, according to the EIU's 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living survey.

1. TIE — Singapore

1. TIE — New York

3. Tel Aviv

4. TIE — Hong Kong

4. TIE — Los Angeles

6. Zurich

7. Geneva

8. San Francisco

9. Paris

10. TIE — Copenhagen

10. TIE — Sydney