COE prices lower in second round of bidding for August

[SINGAPORE]  Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums closed lower across the board on Thursday (Aug 23) in the second round of bidding for August.

The COE price for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp dipped to $32,429, down 5.6 per cent from $34,381 in the last round of bidding.

The price for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp fell 5.3 per cent, from $33,798 to $31,997.

Veteran vehicle trader Neo Nam Hen, the chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said prices were likely to remain at these levels for some time.

He added that the demand for cars was still healthy, noting traders are still trying to clear backlog from orders received in early July, when the COE for smaller cars hit a low of $25,000.

Mr Neo also pointed out that the number of bidders exceeded the quota across all the categories. For smaller cars, for example, where the quota is 1,695, there were 2,948 bids received.

"This shows this price range is quite acceptable for consumers," he said.

The motorcycle premium hit $4,889, down 11 per cent from $5,514 in the last round.

This is the lowest the motorcycle COE has been since August last year, when the price was $3,512.

This could be the long-term effect of the removal of motorcycle COEs from the open category, which happened in May last year, said Singapore Motorcycle Trade Association vice-president Norman Lee.

The higher quota of COEs allocated to motorcycles this quarter - 1,639 a month, up more than 50 per cent from the last quarter - could also be a factor, he added.

COEs for the open category - which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles, but is mostly used for bigger cars - also closed lower, down from $33,420 to $32,311.

The premium for commercial vehicles closed at $29,902, down $487.

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