Singapore and Zurich surpassed New York to become the world’s most expensive cities to live in this year, according to a new global survey.

The sky-high cost of car ownership, pricey alcohol and rising grocery prices saw Singapore pull ahead of the US city, with which it shared top spot last year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 report.

Zurich jumped from sixth place last year to joint first, thanks in part to the strong Swiss franc, as well as expensive groceries, household goods and recreation.

Geneva, tied with New York in third position, and Hong Kong rounded out the list of the top five costliest places. Overall, global prices rose an average 7.4 percent on-year in local currency terms, slightly down on last year’s 8.1 percent increase.

The survey was carried out between Aug. 14 and Sept. 11 and compared more than 400 individual prices in 173 cities globally. (Bloomberg)