LONDON, June 17 (UPI) -- Asia's booming cities comprised half of the world's ten most expensive cities, according to a list published by consulting group Mercer.
Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul were all ranked before New York, London and Tokyo in a list that factored in exchange rate fluctuations, The Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Japan's capital, widely known as the world's most expensive city, did not make the top ten. The underlying cause was the weakness of the yen against the U.S. dollar.
Less populated Luanda, the capital city of Angola, was ranked the most expensive because of the high cost of rent, imported goods and the security that comes with being an oil producer, the BBC reported.
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Tokyo's slide began after 2013, when the city was demoted from seventh, then 11th most expensive in the most recent rankings.
A weaker yen however is only part of the explanation.
South Korean television network SBS reported that, according to a Seoul-based Japanese journalist, prices for everyday goods and services in Tokyo were tamer than those found in Seoul, with coffee drinks in Korea at least twice the price of the same beverage in Tokyo.
The Mercer report stated a hamburger in Seoul costs $5.90, nearly 30 cents more than Tokyo, which also is more expensive than Asia's financial hub Hong Kong.
The survey compares a basket of more than 200 goods and services that include food items like the hamburger and cinema tickets. Rental rates of an international standard accommodation, too, also were part of the data.
Moscow fell from the top ten list, diving from ninth to 50th in the Mercer report. The depreciation of the ruble and tougher economic sanctions against Russia were part of the reason why Moscow fared poorly in the survey.
New York, which ranked 16th most expensive this year, was the base city used to compile rankings.
