Late January contract prices for DRAM continue trending downward, despite previous media reports saying Elpida Memory would raise its prices later in the month.
Various media outlets have reported that Elpida planned to raise prices on PC DRAM by about 10% as early as end-January.
Contract prices for 4GB DDR3 modules have fallen up to 6% to between US$30-33 for the second half of January, while 2GB DDR3 parts have slid up to 3% to US$15.50-17. Prices for 1Gb and 2Gb DDR3 chips are quoted at US$0.88 and US$1.84, respectively, on average.
DRAM contract prices to start recovering in the second quarter. But some chip suppliers expect the price rebound to take place earlier.
Nanya Technology has commented that DRAM prices may begin to recover as early as the end of the first quarter. Kwon Oh-hyun, head of Samsung Electronics' chip division, was quoted as saying in a recent MarketWatch report that prices may rebound later in the first quarter.