CERTIFICATE of entitlement (COE) prices for cars have increased following the close of July's second bidding on Wednesday afternoon.

Category A, for cars 1,600cc and below, registered the biggest jump of 22.5 per cent from $29,501 to $36,162. This is an eight-year high for the category.

Premiums for big cars (Cat B, above 1,600cc) finished at $42,889, a 19.4 per cent increase.

The open category - which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up being used mainly for cars - rose 6.2 per cent to $43,565.

Premiums for the commercial and goods vehicle category dipped 2.5 per cent to $30,601, while Cat D - for motorcycles - dropped 2.2 per cent to $1,290.

The hikes in car COE prices show the market anticipation of the cuts in monthly quota starting next month.

Last week, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced a 3,844 COE per month quota for all categories from August this year to next January, which is 9 per cent lower than the average of 4,238 per month given for April to July.

Most strongly affected was the Cat A and B categories. For small cars, this meant a 14.3 per cent reduction in monthly quota to 1,195 pieces. For big cars, a quota of 958 pieces will be available per month, which is a 12.8 cut.

The open category will see a monthly reduction from 720 to 618 pieces.  

a1motor@sph.com.sg