Singapore, March 3 (IANS): Singapore has retained the position of the world's most expensive city for expatriates for the second successive year, according to a survey conducted the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The bi-annual survey released on Tuesday stated that Zurich and Geneva would actually top Singapore at current exchange rates if its Worldwide Cost of Living Survey took into account the recent jump in the value of the Swiss franc after Switzerland unpegged its currency from the euro, the Straits Times reported on Tuesday.

The top five most expensive cities in the world remain unchanged from a year earlier. These include, in descending order, Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.

Tokyo has fallen to 11th place this year as the yen weakened against the US dollar and deflation continued to impact the economy. The Japanese capital topped the list in 2013 but was replaced by Singapore in 2014.

It comprised 133 cities worldwide and used New York as a base and compared the cost of more than 160 services and products including food, clothing and utility bills.

The information gathered for the survey is designed to be used online as a way to calculate the cost of relocating and living for expatriates and business travellers.

According to the survey, Singapore is 11 percent more expensive than New York for basic groceries, over 50 percent more expensive for clothes, together with Seoul, the most expensive place in the world to shop for clothes.

The EIU said it was "very rare" to have an unchanged top five in their survey, especially taking into account that tumbling oil prices, deflation and currency movements have affected the cost of living in several cities.