Contract quotes for mainstream 1GB DDR2 modules posted a slide of 1.2% sequentially in the first half of March, after having a stable February, according to inSpectrum. This implies that continuing demand worries still trouble the market.
In addition, spot pricing for both DRAM and NAND flash trended downward over the last week (February 27-March 6), said inSpectrum.
DRAM chipmakers' joint production cutbacks seemed to have contributed less to the pricing trend, inSpectrum noted. As inventory in the channel is still high, major PC makers have revised downward their shipment forecasts.
DRAM spot prices also remained inactive over the last week. The price of 1Gb DDR2 fell more than 10% to US$0.79, down from US$0.89 recorded on February 27. The drop was due to a large volume of DDR and DDR2 chips from Hynix Semiconductor, inSpectrum indicated.
The recent bailout announcement has had no impact on spot pricing at all, no matter in terms of volume or pricing, the firm noted, while adding that it does not expect any meaningful impact from the news will be seen going forward.
A downward price trend was also seen in the NAND flash spot market, inSpectrum said. However, the research firm expects buyers will resume procurement in noticeable volumes, once the price of the mainstream 16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash slides to the US$3.10 level.
| inSpectrum: Spot price for mainstream DRAM and NAND flash chips, Feb 26-Mar 06 (US$) | ||||
| Date | NAND flash | 1Gb DDR2-667/800 | ||
| 16Gb | 32Gb | Branded | White-box | |
| 2009/02/26 | 3.46 | 6.37 | 0.93 | 0.84 |
| 2009/02/27 | 3.51 | 6.61 | 0.89 | 0.82 |
| 2009/03/02 | 3.57 | 6.67 | 0.89 | 0.82 |
| 2009/03/03 | 3.55 | 6.61 | 0.87 | 0.8 |
| 2009/03/04 | 3.51 | 6.47 | 0.85 | 0.77 |
| 2009/03/05 | 3.53 | 6.35 | 0.82 | 0.74 |
| 2009/03/06 | 3.49 | 6.19 | 0.79 | 0.74 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2009
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2009
