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This year has been special in many economic aspects and the changes have not left the cities intact. Against this background, in 2020, the main list of the most expensive cities also changed dramatically.
This year, three cities topped the top list of the most expensive cities. That means Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong shared a gold medal in 2020 on the list of most expensive cities, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Zurich and Paris thus overtook Singapore and Osaka, which had previously shared Hong Kong first. The research examined the development of price levels in 130 cities up to September 2020. The rise of the two European cities on the list is mainly due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc and the euro.
The report highlighted that due to the economic effects of the coronavirus epidemic, the US dollar weakened somewhat, while European and Asian currencies strengthened against the green belly.
In recent years, by the way, Asian cities tend to dominate the top of the list, but the epidemic has driven off several former jockeys. Singapore thus finished in fourth place, which according to the report was mainly due to the withdrawal of foreign workers.
Singapore’s population has shrunk for the first time since 2003, overall demand has also dropped, and deflation has hit the city’s economy. This year a similar trend has emerged in Osaka. Consumer prices have stagnated and the Japanese government has offered various discounts to consumers, which has also lowered prices. Osaka and Tel Aviv shared fifth place on the list.
Seventh and ninth spots were also shared, the first between Geneva and New York and the second between Copenhagen and Los Angeles.
The research also noted that prices of goods and services have generally stagnated this year due to the effects of the epidemic. The prices of essential goods such as food or water also held out, but due to low demand, the prices of many other items, such as clothing, fell dramatically around the world.
Disruption of supply chains has affected product prices in different ways. High demand for computers, for example, has raised the prices of electronic products in many cities.
According to the report’s authors, this year’s trends could continue into 2021 as consumption is expected to be subdued, which could put further pressure on consumer prices. All this means that there will also be significant differences between the segments next year. The demand for home entertainment items, as well as faster access to the internet, is expected to increase, while the demand for clothing and leisure activities outside the home is expected to decline in 2021.
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