Although an unprecedented "cut-and-fill" method has increased the opacity of the COE system, the recent rise in de-registrations is still worth noting. Before going into finer detail about what has transpired over the past quarter, let's look at the numbers first. With the spikes and dips averaged out over the October to December period, COE premiums still climbed by five per cent for Cat E compared to the previous quarter, whereas Cat B rose by a gentler 1.7 per cent.
Conversely, Cat A experienced a not-insignificant 5.7 per cent fall — marking the first quarter-on-quarter decline since October 2021. But as we wipe the sweat off our brows and heave a collective sigh of relief, it would be remiss to forget the unfathomable heights scaled by COE premiums climbed within the past quarter. Wind the clock back to late September, where multiple rounds of extra supply injections didn't appear to be alleviating the situatio