New York and Singapore are jointly the world’s most expensive cities after inflation soared this year, an annual survey showed.

The pair displaced last year’s number one Tel Aviv, which fell to third place this time round in the Worldwide Cost of Living index from London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.

New York hit the top spot for the first time, while Damascus and Tripoli remained the cheapest cities.

In addition to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco moved into the top ten.

Upasana Dutt, who headed the research, said “the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia and China’s zero-COVID policies have caused supply-chain problems that, combined with rising interest rates and exchange-rate shifts, have resulted in a cost-of-living crisis across the world.” (AFP)