Spot market prices for standard 4Gb DDR3 DRAM chips rose again to close US$3 on March 5 following a 6% hike a day earlier when quotes were set at around US$2.70-2.80. Meanwhile, quotes for 2Gb DDR3 chips edged up US$1.60 from the previous US$1.50, according to industry sources.

The top-three DRAM suppliers – Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology and SK Hynix – are reluctant to release their chips, while still making efforts to push up chip prices even higher, the sources indicated.

PC OEMs, memory module makers and channel operators in China are building their DRAM inventories aggressively which is likely to trigger tight supply in the market, added the sources.