Certificate of entitlement for cars up to 1,600cc, such as the Toyota Altis and Nissan Latio, took the sharpest fall - down 29.4 per cent to $11,009.

COE for cars above 1,600cc, such as Honda's Accord and Audi?s A4, dipped 9.3 per cent to $15,889.

Open COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for cars, fell by 10.6 per cent to $16,500.

Commercial vehicle COE finished 12.5 per cent lower at $15,889.

Motor traders said inflationary worries are keeping buyers away from showrooms. Vincent Ng, product manager at Honda agent Kah Motor, said: 'People are beginning to feel the pinch of rising food prices. What's more, they don't know how high prices will go.

'So if they already have a car in hand, they see no real urgency in trading in for a new one.'

This sentiment, Mr Ng said, is affecting the bread-and-butter cars most. Hence the sharp drop in COE for cars up to 1,600cc.

Gavin Yeo, sales director at Toyota agent Borneo Motors, said the slowdown in the property market as well as the school examinations period had also kept buyers away.

Car dealers are lowering prices. Borneo Motors, for instance, has cut prices of models like the Toyota Altis and Vios by $3,000, and bigger cars like the Camry and RAV4 by $1,500.

Mr A C Neo, marketing director of Nissan agent Tan Chong, said his company will also be adjusting prices downwards. Asked if that would draw buyers back, he said: 'Hope so.'