During the last trading week of March, transaction volumes have been low in the spot market as buyers take a wait-and-see approach. Meanwhile, sellers insist on keeping prices static.

As of noon on March 30, branded and white-brand 2Gb DDR3 chips were quoted at US$1.05 and US$0.91, respectively. Prices registered almost flat growth during the week of March 26-30, the memory price tracker said.

Meanwhile, prices in the contract market went up in the second half of March, which might help spur spot prices upward. Actual demand for the second quarter remains unclear, but some industry sources speculate that PC shipments will recover starting the quarter as hard drive shortages ease, leading to encouraging DRAM demand in the second quarter.

As for NAND flash, spot prices for 32Gb MLC chips slid 1% to average US$3.17 as of noon March 30, while 64Gb MLC ones were pegged at US$5.45. Prices for TLC chips continued their stable pricing trend during the week.

With competition among white-box handset makers in the low-cost smartphone market expected to heat up in the second quarter, overall NAND flash demand will likely be reshaped.