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Singapore has jumped to the top of the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) ranking of the world's
most expensive cities, overtaking the likes of Tokyo and Osaka as the Singapore dollar
appreciated against the yen. Singapore was ranked sixth in the EIU's survey last year,
behind the two Japanese cities, Sydney, Oslo and Melbourne. According to the EIU, Osaka
and Tokyo fell off the top of its cost of living ranking because of the weaker yen.
Tokyo, the most expensive city to live in for 2013, fell to joint sixth place alongside
Caracas, Geneva and Melbourne, while Paris is second, ahead of Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.
The EIU said Singapore had several structurally expensive items that skewed the overall cost
of living upwards, citing the high cost of certificates of entitlement (COEs) that made
Singapore "significantly more expensive" than any other locations when it came to running
a car. Singapore was also the world's third most expensive destination for utility costs.
The proliferation of expensive malls and boutiques along Orchard Road selling imported luxury
European brands also meant that Singapore was the priciest place in the world to buy
clothes, the EIU added.