Zurich and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world ahead of New York, according to a ranking published on Thursday by the weekly The Economist, which highlights the increase in prices worldwide.
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In the classification, they stand out the escalations of three Latin American cities (Santiago de Querétaro and Aguascalientes in Mexico and San José in Costa Rica) due to the appreciation of their currencies and foreign investment.
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The British magazine estimates that prices rose on average by 7.4% in one year in the 173 cities studied, which represents a slight brake on the record inflation of 8.1% registered in 2022.
“The cost of living crisis is far from over and price levels remain well above historical trends,” says Upasana Dutt, head of the study which is based on the prices of 200 products and services.
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The cost of living crisis is far from over and price levels remain well above historical trends.
“We foresee a continuation of the slowdown in inflation in 2024,” argues this expert, based on the effect of the high interest rates set by numerous central banks to stop price increases.
The Swiss city of Zurich dethrones New York, which the previous year was next to Singapore.
Europe places four cities in the top ten, due to inflation in food and clothing and the appreciation of the euro against the dollar, which affects this classification calculated in the US currency.
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In addition to Zurich, Geneva (Switzerland) appears in third place, tied with New York; Paris (France), in seventh place, and Copenhagen (Denmark) in eighth, tied with Israel’s Tel Aviv.
The American cities of Los Angeles (6) and San Francisco (10) also remain in the top ten, which is completed by Hong Kong, in fifth position.
The main advances in classification The stars are Santiago de Querétaro (from 99 to 51), Aguascalientes (from 121 to 82) and San José (from 108 to 70).
“Central banks in much of Latin America were among the first to follow the US Federal Reserve’s interest increases to support their currencies,” which appreciated against the dollar, the report says.
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The magazine also notes that “prices were driven by the strong foreign invasion, especially in Mexico”.
On the other hand, the biggest drop affects the Russian cities of Moscow (142) and Saint Petersburg (147), due to the depreciation of the ruble due to Western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine.
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The cheapest city according to the study is Damascus, just behind Tehran. The Argentine capital Buenos Aires appears at the bottom of the ranking as the tenth most economical city.
AFP
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