SINGAPORE - Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums ended higher across the board in the latest tender on Wednesday (Aug 7) as a smaller quota kicked in.

The COE price for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp closed at $32,725, up from $26,667. The COE premium for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp finished at $40,001, up from $39,406.

The premium for open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles but ends up mostly for bigger cars, ended at $40,512, up from $39,889 previously.

The commercial vehicle COE price finished at $27,800, up from $24,599. The motorcycle premium rose from $3,554 to reach $4,400, a 10-month high.

The quota for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp for the August-October period is nearly 26 per cent smaller than the preceding three months at 2,112 certificates a month.

The quota for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp is almost 9 per cent smaller at 2,083 a month. The open category is 5 per cent smaller at 709 a month.

Motor traders said the smaller supply, coupled with the longer bidding period of three weeks - as opposed to the usual two weeks - had led to more aggressive bidding.

Mr Ron Lim, head of sales and marketing at Nissan agent Tan Chong Motor, said: "Cat B (cars above 1,600cc) was up only by $500-plus, signifying a weaknesses.

"The Cat A (cars up to 1,600cc) situation is more dire because of the drastic quota cut. The huge jump is not unexpected. But that should drastically tame demand going forward. The underlying demand is still weak."

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