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MUMBAI:According to Mercer ’s 23rd annual Cost of Living Survey , Mumbai – ranked 57 –is India’s most expensive city for expatriates, inching closer to break into the top 50 most expensive cities in the world.New Delhi, ranked 99, has moved into the top 100 category, Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and followed by Kolkata (184). Mumbai (57)is ranked higher and more expensive than cities likeAuckland (61),Dallas and Paris (62), Canberra (71), Seattle (76) and Vienna (78. It has moved 25 notes up from being ranked 82 in 2016.New Delhi and Mumbaihave become more expensive over the last year, and their rankings have gone up substantially.“Residential rental prices increased in Mumbai and New Delhi. Due to demonetization, real estate sales market has been severely hit. However, the rental market benefitted from the consumers’ sudden withdrawal from the purchase market, thereby putting pressure on rental prices” said Ruchika Pal, India Practice Leader, Global Mobility at Mercer.Mercer said Mumbai’s jump in ranking is also attributable to surge in prices of food and personal care. Inflation, amongst the highest in Indian cities, moved from 4.81% to 5.57%, during this period, in Mumbai. Overall, while inflation in India has been maintained, over the last few years, prices of expat food items such as cheese, butter, fish, meat etc have increased significantly. Prices for fruits and vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, lettuce and pineapple have also shown increase. Mumbai is also the most expensive cities in India on account of transportation, which includes taxi fares, cost of auto and auto parts as well as running costs.Overall, Indian cities have moved up the global ranking substantially, not just on account of internal factors, but additionally due to some cities falling in rankings, globally, on account of currency volatility especially in Egypt, Turkey and United Kingdom.