Contract prices for multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory for the first half of January 2011 went up, with 32Gb chips having the largest rise of 3-5%.
Prices of 32Gb MLC NAND ranged from a low of US$4.20 to a high of US$9.30, averaging US$5.38 in the first half of January. Meanwhile, 16Gb parts were quoted at US$3.56 on average, up 2.3% compared to the second half of December.
Contract quotes for 32Gb 3-bit per cell MLC products also trended upwards for the former part of January. Prices rallied about 2.4% to average US$4.30.
NAND flash contract prices have stabilized since the second half of November 2010.
Prices would stop falling in December and start to rebound in January thanks to replenishment demand for the Lunar New Year holidays and the launch of new smartphones and tablet PCs by system vendors. In addition, affected by Toshiba's shipment losses due to a power outage at its plant, a reduction in global supply would also help prop up prices in early 2011.