14 June 2004 16:20
Living cost rise fastest in the world in year to March 04
1 - Tokyo, JAPAN
2 - London, UK
SYDNEY, June 14 AAP - Australia's cost of living rose faster than anywhere else in the world in the year to
March 2004 due mainly to the skyrocketing Aussie dollar, a survey released today found. Sydney climbed 47 places to 20th
on the list of world's most expensive cities to live, pipping Rome, Amsterdam and Los Angeles for wallet and
purse-draining potential. Melbourne was more costly to live in than Dubai or Washington. Melbourne moved 44 spots higher
to 67th position, Brisbane rose to 87th from 144th place in 2003 and Perth was 94th, compared with 121st last year. The
only other country to experience costs rising at the same pace as Australia was New Zealand, the survey found. Auckland
was the costliest Kiwi city, ranked 80, up from 115 in 2003. The cost-of-living survey by human resources company Mercer
covered 144 cities and measured expenses such as housing, food, clothing, transportation and entertainment. The survey
was designed for companies with multinational staff bases to compare living differentials between cities when
transferring people. "Cities in Australia and New Zealand have risen most in the rankings this year due to the
significant appreciation of local currencies against the US dollar," Mercer principal Rob Knox said. On March 1,
2003, the Australian dollar was trading on the foreign exchange market at about 60 US cents, but a year later it was
worth 77 US cents - a rise of 24 per cent. After topping 80 US cents in 2004 it has since eased to about 69 US cents
today. Tokyo was the world's most expensive city ahead of London and Moscow. Twelfth ranking New York is used as
the base city. A separate survey of 215 cities found Australian cities continued to rate among the highest for high
quality of life. As was the experience of Australia, many cities moved in the rankings due to the comparative strength
or weakness of their nation's currency over the period. "Chinese cities, though still relatively expensive,
have dropped in the rankings, as the Chinese currency is pegged to the US dollar and has therefore been affected by its
depreciation," Mercer said. Beijing was ranked 11, followed by Shanghai in 16th place. London was the most
expensive city in Europe because of high accommodation and transport costs together with the appreciation of the British
pound against the US dollar. The cost of living survey's index of cities in 2004: Rank 2004
4 - Osaka, JAPAN
5 - Hong Kong
3 - Moscow, RUSSIA
6 - Geneva, SWITZERLAND 7 - Seoul, SOUTH KOREA 8 - Copenhagen, DENMARK 9 - Zurich, SWITZERLAND 10 - St. Petersburg,
RUSSIA 11 - Beijing, CHINA 12 - New York City, USA 13 - Milan, ITALY 14 - Dublin, IRELAND 15 - Oslo, NORWAY 16 -
Shanghai, CHINA 17 - Paris, FRANCE 18 - Istanbul, TURKEY 19 - Vienna, AUSTRIA 20 - Sydney, AUSTRALIA *67 - Melbourne,
AUSTRALIA *87 - Brisbane, AUSTRALIA *94 - Perth, AUSTRALIA AAP
[AAP News] |
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