It might not be apparent to those who live here, but Honolulu has slipped in the rankings of the world's most expensive cities.

A new report by ECA International shows Hawai'i's capital now ranks as the 49th costliest place to live worldwide, down from 25th in a report by the firm earlier this year.

Much of the slippage for Honolulu and other U.S. cities is attributed to a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies.

ECA compares the cost of living in more than 390 cities twice a year, compiling prices for a basket of goods and services that include groceries, clothing, meals out, drink and tobacco and miscellaneous goods and services.

ECA does the surveys as part of its work in helping companies determine salaries for employees being assigned overseas. The basket of items is selected to reflect a certain lifestyle.

The firm said prices have mainly been stable and that exchange rate fluctuations had contributed the most to changes in the cost of living for international assignees.

Honolulu was the second most expensive city in the U.S., with only Manhattan in New York ranking higher, coming in at No. 37.

The most expensive city continued to be Luanda, Angola, where certain brands and items preferred by international workers can be very expensive.

Rounding out the top five most expensive cities were Tokyo, Oslo, Copenhagen and Yokohama.