DDR3 Prices Decline in Late July

Even though most companies were able to post good financial results for the past quarter, at least compared to last year, the economy still seems to be badly enough off that prices started oscillating. This once, during today's morning session, mainstream 1Gb DRAM chip spot prices fell, according to DRAMeXchange, reports Digitimes. Apparently, DDR3 prices did not manage to prevent themselves from falling during the second half of the ongoing month.

DRAM makers based in Korea somehow managed to, at the very least, keep the contract quotes of their DDR2 product stable. However, players from other regions decided to cut the prices of their modules due to lower demand than they had anticipated, to US$42 to be exact. For makers of DDR3, however, the situation was slightly more sensitive.

1Gb DDR3 DRAMs decreased by up to 2.4% during the last two weeks of the ongoing month. Basically, this meant a selling price of US$2.44-63. In turn, this fact led to 2GB DDR3 modules being paired with tags of US$42-45. This, of course, may be seen as good news by consumers, who are always on the lookout for lower prices, but lack of stability in such a sector doesn't usually hint at a very favorable mid to long-term situation. Companies reportedly hope that PC replacement demand from the enterprise sector will rise and offset this decline by the end of the year. Nevertheless, there are still concerns that DRAM makers with more advanced technologies may increase their production, leading to oversupply during the same period.

Currently, China is facing a government investigation into DRAM smuggling, and this has impacted on sales. As for the US and Europe, demand is, to some extent, weak because of the uncertain economical conditions. What remains to be seen is whether this scenario persists or if spot prices once again stabilize.