Singapore Retains Crown as World's Most Expensive City for Luxury Spending
Singapore has been named the world's most expensive city for luxury spending for the fourth consecutive year, according to the latest annual report by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd. The index, which tracks the cost of a luxury lifestyle across major global cities, saw an average increase of 10.2 per cent in US dollar terms over the past year.
Zurich climbed to second place, displacing London to third. Monaco entered the top three for the first time since the ranking began in 2020, while Hong Kong and London completed the top five. The report attributed Zurich's rise to the strengthening of the Swiss franc, which has benefited from Switzerland's reputation for stability and the currency's status as a safe haven during uncertain times.
Singapore's continued leadership is driven by its expensive residential property and car markets — the two most heavily weighted categories in the index — as well as the strength of the Singapore dollar. The rankings compare prices using the US dollar as the standard.
The report noted that the cost of maintaining a luxury lifestyle has increased sharply, with premium goods such as watches and jewellery seeing significant price rises. No US city appeared in the top ten of the index, reflecting the relative strength of the US dollar and moderate inflation in luxury goods compared to other regions.
