Singapore retained its title as the world's most expensive city for the second consecutive year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Singapore retained its title as the world's most expensive city for the second consecutive year

The EIU study measures 133 cities worldwide, using New York as a baseline. It compares the cost of more than 160 services and products including food, clothing and utility bills.

Singapore was found to be more expensive than New York by 11 percent for basic groceries and 50 percent for clothing prices, the EIU reported.

Most significantly, Singapore’s complex Certificate of Entitlement system leads to excessively substantial car prices, with Singaporean transport costs almost three times higher than those in New York.

The top five most expensive cities in the world remain unchanged from a year earlier and include Paris, France; Oslo, Norway; Zurich, Switzerland; and Sydney, Australia.

The Japanese capital of Tokyo, top of the list in 2013, has fallen to 11th place this year as the JPY weakened against the USD and deflation continued to impact the economy.

(Source: VNA)