(CNN) — All over the world, it has been a tricky yr on wallets.
Supply-chain blockages and altering shopper demand have pushed up the value of residing in lots of our largest cities, in response to new analysis printed Wednesday, and inflation is the quickest recorded over the previous 5 years.
The Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv topped the rankings for the first time, overtaking final yr’s chief Paris, which is now tied in second place with Singapore.
The EIU attributes Tel Aviv’s sharp rise on the index to will increase to grocery and transport costs and the power of the Israeli shekel in opposition to the US greenback.
The City of Light landed in second place in 2021.
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Everyday items and companies
The 2021 Worldwide Cost of Living index tracks the value of residing throughout 173 world cities — 40 greater than final yr — and compares the value of greater than 200 on a regular basis services.
Data for the survey, which has been carried out for greater than three many years, is gathered by EIU’s world workforce of researchers every March and September.
The index is benchmarked in opposition to costs in New York City, therefore cities with currencies that are stronger in opposition to the US greenback are more likely to seem greater in the rankings.
Zurich and Hong Kong are at Nos. 4 and 5 respectively, having held the high spot final yr alongside Paris. New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka spherical up the remainder of the high 10.
The higher rankings rankings continues to be dominated by European and developed Asian cities. The lowest-ranking cities are primarily in the Middle East, Africa and fewer rich components of Asia.
Pandemic issues
The EIU reviews that, on common, costs for the items and companies lined by the index have risen by 3.5% yr on yr in local-currency phrases, in contrast with a rise of simply 1.9% this time final yr.
Those much-reported world supply-chain issues have contributed to cost rises and the Covid-19 pandemic and social restrictions are nonetheless affecting manufacturing and commerce round the world. With a brand new coronavirus variant at the moment inflicting widespread alarm, these points will not be going away in a rush.
Rising oil costs drove a 21% improve in the value of unleaded petrol, reviews the EIU, however there have been additionally large value hikes in the recreation, tobacco and private care classes.
The highest-rising metropolis in 2021 was the Iranian metropolis of Tehran, which jumped 50 locations from No.79 to No.29 as US sanctions resulted in shortages and better costs.
The Syrian metropolis of Damascus as soon as once more ranks as the least expensive metropolis in the world, as its war-torn financial system continues to battle. Damascus and Tehran suffered from very excessive inflation in 2021, as did Caracas in Venezuela and Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Previous list-topper Singapore fell one slot in 2021.
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More to return
Upasana Dutt, head of Worldwide Cost of Living at EIU, stated in an announcement: “Although most economies across the world are now recovering as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out, many major cities are still seeing spikes in cases, leading to social restrictions. These have disrupted the supply of goods, leading to shortages and higher prices.
We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with the rise in petrol prices particularly stark. But not all cities saw price increases. Many of the cities towards the bottom of our rankings saw prices stagnate or even fall, partly because their currencies weakened against the US dollar.
Over the coming year, we expect to see the cost of living rise further in many cities as wages increase in many sectors. However, we are also expecting central banks to raise interest rates, cautiously, to stem inflation. So the price increases should start to moderate from this year’s level.”
Los Angeles is certainly one of two U.S. cities on the listing.
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World’s most expensive cities to reside 2021
1. Tel Aviv, Israel
2. (tie) Paris, France
2. (tie) Singapore
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Hong Kong
6. New York City, New York
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. Copenhagen, Denmark
9. Los Angeles, California
10. Osaka, Japan
11. Oslo, Norway
12. Seoul, South Korea
13. Tokyo, Japan
14. (tie) Vienna, Austria
14. (tie) Sydney, Australia
16. Melbourne, Australia
17. (tie) Helsinki, Finland
17. (tie) London, UK
19. (tie) Dublin, Ireland
19. (tie) Frankfurt, Germany
19. (tie) Shanghai, China