Tokyo takes top spot as world’s priciest city

TOKYO has replaced Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive city, according to the latest cost of living survey of 144 cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Moscow is in second place, followed by Osaka, which has moved up three places since last year. Asuncion in Paraguay, whose currency depreciated against the US dollar, has replaced Johannesburg as the least expensive city in the survey. With New York as the base city scoring 100 points, Tokyo scored 126,1 points and is almost three-and-a-half times costlier than Asuncion, which has an index of 36,5 points. The survey measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location. These include housing, food, clothing, and household goods, together with transportation and entertainment. The data is used to assist multinational companies in determining compensation allowances for their expatriate workers. (Miguel de Sousa)