Contract prices for 1Gb DRAM chips continued trending downwards in the first half of September 2010, as market sentiment remained weak.
Early September contract prices for 1Gb DDR3 chips plunged by up to 10.6% to US$2.03-2.16, driving the price of 2GB DDR3 modules to US$36 on average. Meanwhile, same-density DDR2 parts slid by almost 3% for the same period pushing prices for 2GB DDR2 modules to US$35.
Back-to-school demand appeared slower than normal, and restocking demand for China's National Day holidays has so far been disappointing, commented Pei Lin Pai, VP and spokesperson for Nanya Technology. Both contributed to weaker-than-expected PC sales, Pei indicated.
However, Pei noticed that stockpiles at system OEMs and in the channel are pretty low. If clearer replacement demand in the enterprise market emerges later in the year, inventory restocking can be expected to create demand after September, Pei said.
On the spot market, branded 1Gb DDR2 and DDR3 parts closed at US$1.85 and US$2.12, respectively, on September 15.