CNN Money rated London as the 2nd most expensive city in the world. Top position is still with Tokyo, followed by London, Moscow, Osaka and Hong Kong.

The three most inexpensive cities are Asuncion, Paraguay; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as per CNN Money.

The survey looked at 144 cities across the globe, and used the cost of living in New York City as a baseline. So the ranking of a city in terms of expense is relative to New York. Mercer conducts the survey to help companies and governments with offices around the world determine compensation levels for ex-patriate workers.

Top 5 Most Expensive:
- Tokyo, Japan
- London, UK
- Moscow, Russia
- Osaka, Japan
- Hong Kong

Top 5 Least Expensive:
- Asuncion, Paraguay
- Montevideo, Uruguay
- Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Harare, Zimbabwe

Source: Mercer

Some of the cheapest European cities were in countries which joined the European Union last month, including Bucharest in Romania and Limassol in Cyprus.

\"We are likely to see cities in the new EU accession countries rise in the rankings as more investment is made in commercial development, and standards of living increase,\" said a senior researcher at Mercer, Marie-Laurence Sepede.

For more information visit money.cnn.com