The soaring Canadian dollar has catapulted Toronto and Montreal into the ranks of the most expensive cities in the world, according to an annual study made public Wednesday.

The ranking, released by UBS AG, ranks Toronto as the 8th most expensive city in the world, followed by Montreal.

They ranked 28 and 29, respectively, in the 2009 survey.

The report called “Prices and Earnings: a global purchasing power comparison,” takes stock of prices and wages in 73 cities.

Oslo, Zurich and Geneva are still among the most expensive cities, the report said.

The lowest prices for a broad basket of goods and services can be found in Bucharest, Manila and Mumbai, India.

The Canadian dollar rose nearly 27 per cent against the euro from March 2009 to June 2010. It rose about 21 per cent compared to the value of the U.S. dollar over that time.

Inflation came in at 1.93 per cent during that period.

The rising loonie, along with inflation, pushed Toronto and Montreal up the list, the report said.

Auckland, Sydney, Johannesburg and Jakarta also rose through the ranks because of their rising currency.

But Toronto and Montreal are further down the ladder, sitting at 13 and 16, respectively, when it comes to wages.

“Those interested in high wages should still consider moving to Zurich, Copenhagen or Geneva,” the report noted.

When it comes to domestic purchasing power, Montreal ranked 11 and Toronto came in 14th.

Employees in Zurich, Sydney, Miami and Los Angeles enjoy the most purchasing power from their after-tax hourly wages, UBS said.

Employees in Jakarta, Nairobi and Manila had the lowest purchasing power among the cities surveyed.

The most expensive cities

Oslo

Zurich

Geneva

Tokyo

Copenhagen

New York

Stockholm

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Toronto

Montreal

London