COE prices rebound due to sharp shrinkage in supply
Certificates of entitlement (COE) rebounded across the board at the latest tender yesterday on the back of a smaller quota.
The COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp finished 0.9 per cent higher at $33,000. The COE premium for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp closed 6 per cent higher at $37,102 - the highest since January.
The price for the Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles but ends up mostly for bigger cars, ended 4.3 per cent higher at $36,502. This was also its highest since January.
The commercial vehicle COE price ended 0.9 per cent higher at $24,100. The motorcycle premium finished 18.3 per cent higher at $7,701.
Industry watchers attributed the all-round increase mainly to a sharp shrinkage in COE supply for the August to October period.
They pointed out, however, that the price increases were small in relation to the supply contraction.
Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said: "If these were normal times, COE prices would have shot up by a lot more."
Mr Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda agent Kah Motor, said "market sentiment is still bad" and pointed to the number of bids submitted for car COEs, which fell by 18 per cent to 4,816. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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