Last Month's Sharp Rise in DRAM and NAND Fixed Transaction Prices Stabilizes This Month... "Q3 Price Increase Expected"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Fixed transaction prices for memory semiconductors such as DRAM and NAND flash remained stable in May. Due to the characteristic of significant quarterly fluctuations, prices rose by up to 26% last month, but there was no price change this month.

According to market research firm TrendForce on the 31st, the fixed transaction price for PC DRAM (DDR4 8Gb) in May was recorded at $3.8, the same as the previous month. The fixed transaction price for PC DRAM had shown a stable trend for two consecutive months after rising 5% in January this year, then surged 26.67% last month. This was the largest increase since January 2017.

TrendForce predicted that although fixed transaction prices did not change this month due to last month’s price increase, they are expected to rise 3?8% in July, the first month of the third quarter when new long-term contracts begin. DRAM fixed transaction prices tend to show large fluctuations at the beginning of each quarter because companies enter into long-term contracts quarterly.

TrendForce forecasted, "With increased laptop shipments and inventory shortages among memory semiconductor manufacturers, fixed transaction prices in the third quarter will steadily rise, improving the profitability of DRAM suppliers."

NAND flash prices also remained stable. The fixed transaction price for general-purpose NAND flash products (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC) for memory cards and USB, which rose 8.57% last month, remained at $4.56, unchanged from last month. TrendForce stated that due to the price increase in April, there will be little price fluctuation until next month, but the upward price trend is expected to continue in the second half of this year.

TrendForce analyzed, "With China’s launch of mobile communication infrastructure projects and the easing of COVID-19 social distancing measures, demand for consumer products such as POS terminals and entertainment devices in the US and Europe is increasing, which will sustain the NAND flash price rise through the end of the year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.