SHANGHAI - The price of a new car license plate in Shanghai fell for the third consecutive month after hitting a record high of over 90,000 yuan ($14,679) in March.

In a monthly auction that ended at noon Saturday, the average bid for a car plate was 77,823 yuan, 2,980 yuan lower than the May average, according to official data from the Shanghai municipal government.

The lowest individual bid was 77,600 yuan, 3,100 yuan lower than May.

Shanghai issued 9,000 new license plates in June, the same number as May.

The municipal government has tried to curb rising plate prices by tightening the auction transfer process and offering more plates during periods of high demand.

Prices have risen significantly since auctions began in 2011, as demand for private cars in the city has grown despite local government efforts to restrict vehicle registration.

In March, the average plate price hit 91,898 yuan ($14,790), 8,327 yuan higher than the February average.

China is the world's largest auto market and many of its larger cities struggle with gridlock and other traffic-related problems.

Shanghai is the only Chinese city to use an auction system to control license plate distribution. Beijing uses a lottery system to distribute plates among buyers.