COE prices mostly down due to weak market sentiment

Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices ended mostly lower in the latest tender yesterday as market sentiment remained weak.

The COE price for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp took the biggest tumble of 7.1 per cent to end at a four-month low of $30,000.

For cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp, the price dropped 4.3 per cent to $40,009. The premium for the open COE - which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles, but ends up mostly for bigger cars - closed 4.6 per cent lower at $40,101.

The commercial vehicle COE price fell 2.3 per cent to $25,392. The motorcycle premium bucked the trend by climbing 5.4 per cent to a three-month high of $4,100.

Motorcycle dealers said this was primarily because of industry players feeling the heat as a new emissions deadline looms. By year end, Euro 3 motorbikes will no longer be allowed here, as Singapore moves to adopt the Euro 4 standard.

Traders said the footpath ban on personal mobility devices (PMDs) had little to do with the motorbike COE price rising.

Singapore Motor Cycle Trade Association vice-president Norman Lee said there might be some PMD users who would switch to using motorcycles, but most would buy a used motorbike instead of a new one.

On Tuesday, the authorities announced that PMDs are banned from footpaths - a move which follows a rising number of accidents and persistent public complaints.

Mr Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda agent Kah Motor, said car COE prices should have fallen more significantly.

"The market is very weak," he said. "It has been weak for months already, mainly because of the economy. People are worried about their jobs."

Mr Wong added that if not for speculative bidding in the final minutes of the exercise, premiums would have ended "even lower".