Paris and Zurich become world’s most expensive cities to live after COVID-19

Paris and Zurich have entered with Hong Kong to become the costliest cities in the society as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the prices of daily items.

The capital of France and Swiss city vaulted over Singapore and Osaka to maintain a shared first place with Hong Kong in the most advanced Cost of Living Index from The Economist Intelligence Unit.

The index analysed the costs of 138 goods and with assistance from some 130 cities in September 2020 and discovered that costs on average rose 0.3 percent over the past year. But all countries were touched differently.

Altogether the cities in the Americas, Africa and Eastern Europe have become less valuable while those in Western Europe have become costlier. This is partly revealed to the beginning of European coins upon the US dollar.

Geneva ranked 7 and Copenhagen ranked (9) are the two other European cities starring in the top 10 with Singapore, Tel Aviv, Osaka, New York and Los Angeles making it.

Singapore and Japan’s Osaka, which last year filled with top spot with Hong Kong, have become less valuable because of an exodus of foreign workers which has led to a decline in interest and costs. In Japan, the government has also backed the costs of public transport.

The index recorded that costs were affected by five main trends: currency fluctuations, supply chain problems such as shortages of some goods including pasta and toilet roll, action taken by states such as price controls, consumers’ more careful approach over fears their assets could be hit, and differences in lifestyle.

The report notes that what customers now see as essential has shifted and that price-conscious ones have opted for more inferior alternatives, increasing competition for less-expensive goods.

However, prices of premium products have been almost unaffected as high-earners, although less likely to shop as often, have not replaced their habits much.

Prices of consumer staples have survived stable overall, but prices of alcohol and tobacco have risen with the latter describing the highest-year-on-year addition for any non-durable goods.

Other than tobacco, prices of certain items and services — books, consumer electronics — have seen the most precipitous average increase.