Contract quotes for 1Gb DDR3 memory have increased to between US$2.41 and US$2.69 in the first half of March, driving the price of 2GB DDR3 modules to US$41.50-43. Meanwhile, DDR2 parts managed to hold on to their late February prices.
The recent rally for DDR3 chips has been mainly driven by growing demand from PC OEMs, whose procurement is expected to remain strong through the end of the second quarter. Some producers such as Nanya Technology intend to raise contract prices by scaling down supply.
Early March contract quotes for DDR2 modules remained high at US$38-40. Though many chipmakers are in the process of converting some of their capacity to DDR3, the price tracker suggested supply constraint for DDR2 memory may spur the chip's prices in the spot market, where demand for the soon-to-be-replaced mainstream PC memory remains.
Average spot prices for 1Gb DDR2 effectively tested (eTT) chips edged up 1.33% to close at US$2.42 yesterday (March 10), with the one-day rise outperforming those for branded DDR2 and same-density DDR3 ones. The price tracker believes stabilizing DDR2 prices should reach between US$2 and US$2.50, but the levels could approach US$3 if supply tightens.
Industry sources also find that spot market prices for 1Gb DDR2 eTT memory have recently increased as Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) allocates more capacity to DDR3 output. PSC was quoted in previous reports as saying that DDR3 would account for 75% of its total DRAM output in March.