Dublin overtakes London in terms of expense, city report finds

Dublin has overtaken London as the more expensive city to live in due to the strength of the euro and weaker sterling.

Dublin is ranked 19th out of 133 cities, while London has fallen to 30th place, its lowest ranking in 20 years.

The survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit said the weakening of sterling since the Brexit vote had pushed the UK capital down the rankings.

Last year, Dublin was ranked slightly cheaper than London, ranking 25th in the survey, while London was ranked 24th.

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London’s fall means it is now 9 per cent cheaper than Dublin and 30 per cent cheaper than Paris, the survey says.

The survey, which assesses the cost of a basket of more than 150 goods such as food, drink and clothing across 133 cities around the world, found the sharp decline of sterling and continued economic uncertainty resulting from the EU referendum have pushed London and Manchester sharply down the rankings.

The report noted that Britain’s cities are at their cheapest level internationally in more than two decades, in part due to economic uncertainty following the 2016 Brexit vote.

Paris: joint second place

Paris is the second most expensive city jointly with Zurich.

Singapore tops the ranking, with Hong Kong in fourth place, Oslo in fifth and Geneva in sixth. The cheapest cities include New Delhi and Bucharest.

The report’s author said that while the declines mean British cities are cheaper compared to their international peers, the rise in import prices caused by weaker sterling will mean locals won’t see their own shopping baskets falling in price.

"But now rising import prices mean that British shoppers will notice higher levels of inflation, even as businesses potentially benefit from inbound retail tourism and cross-border trade," said Roxana Slavcheva, editor of the Worldwide Cost of Living report.

Singapore retains its title as the world’s most expensive city for a fifth year running in a top 10 largely dominated by European cities.

No North American city is in the top 10, although New York is 13th and Los Angeles is 14th.