Deutsche Bank report compares global beer and cigarette prices

The Deutsche Bank Research Institute has released a report titled ‘Mapping the World’s Prices’, featuring a unique economic indicator dubbed the ‘Oasis Index’. Named after the Oasis song ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’, the index compares the cost of a specific basket of goods—five 0.5-liter beers and two packs of 20 cigarettes—across 69 cities on six continents.

According to the report authored by Jim Reid and Galina Pozdnyakova, Melbourne emerged as the most expensive city for this basket, costing $111.20, followed closely by Sydney at $109.50. In contrast, Melbourne is reported to be eleven times more expensive than Shanghai. The data, which utilizes crowdsourced information from Numbeo combined with manual data from supermarkets and authorities, is intended to highlight broad economic trends rather than exact individual values.