FEBRUARY's first COE tender will end at 4pm on Tuesday, one day earlier than usual.

This is because Chinese New Year's Eve falls on Wednesday, which is a shorter working day for most.

Because of the shorter bidding period - two days instead of three - observers reckon premiums could soften. In this tender, there are 2,167 certificates available for cars up to 1,600cc; 1,133 available for cars above 1,600cc; 441 for motorcycles; 357 for goods vehicles; and 1,093 for Open COEs, which are mostly used to buy cars.

At the previous tender, COE for cars up to 1,600cc ended at $12,001; those for cars above 1,600cc hit $13,289 while the Open category finished at $13,801.