A mild price drop was seen across the board in both DRAM and NAND flash spot markets this week (February 21-25) amid unclear outlook. Although most industry players foresee a price rebound, no signs of rebound have shown yet, with most buyers being cautious about procurement, according to inSpectrum.
As of noon of February 25, spot price of 2Gb branded DDR3 dropped by 3% to US$1.95. A similar drop was seen in the non-branded segment, with price pegged at US$1.60 during the same period.
According to inSpectrum, quite a lot of negative speculations about Samsung Electronics appeared in the local channel this week. All these speculations pointed to a potential supply cut at the number-one DRAM maker, meaning a potential price up. But buyers did not act on these yet-to-be-confirmed speculations.
Without a price catalyst, inSpectrurm said, some traders tried to push up prices by spreading such rumors. According to its channel checks, the supply fundamentals have not yet shown any changes, inSpectrum said.
A slow sentiment was also seen in the flash market. Demand was frozen because of limited supply. According to USB and memory card makers in China, many migrant labors are not returning to work in cities but instead are staying at their hometowns in rural areas after the long Lunar New Year break. Production for labor-intensive products, such as USB drives, is being affected.
As of noon of February 25, spot price of a 32Gb multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash was priced at US$5.34 and triple-level cell (TLC) at US$4.06, both flat compared to the previous week.
| inSpectrum: 1Gb DRAM spot price, Feb 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | Branded DDR2 | White-brand DDR2 | Branded DDR3 | White-brand DDR3 |
| 02/21 | 1.40 | 1.39 | 1.19 | 1.00 |
| 02/22 | 1.39 | 1.39 | 1.19 | 0.99 |
| 02/23 | 1.39 | 1.38 | 1.19 | 0.98 |
| 02/24 | 1.39 | 1.38 | 1.19 | 0.97 |
| 02/25 | 1.39 | 1.38 | 1.19 | 0.97 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, February 2011
| inSpectrum: 2Gb DDR3 spot price, Feb 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | Branded | White-brand |
| 02/21 | 2.01 | 1.63 |
| 02/22 | 1.98 | 1.63 |
| 02/23 | 1.97 | 1.63 |
| 02/24 | 1.95 | 1.60 |
| 02/25 | 1.95 | 1.60 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, February 2011
| inSpectrum: MLC NAND flash spot price, Feb 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | 16Gb | 32Gb |
| 02/21 | 4.12 | 5.35 |
| 02/22 | 4.13 | 5.36 |
| 02/23 | 4.07 | 5.35 |
| 02/24 | 4.05 | 5.34 |
| 02/25 | 4.05 | 5.34 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, February 2011
| inSpectrum: TLC NAND flash spot price, Feb 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | 32Gb | 64Gb |
| 02/21 | 4.06 | 7.17 |
| 02/22 | 4.06 | 7.17 |
| 02/23 | 4.06 | 7.17 |
| 02/24 | 4.06 | 7.15 |
| 02/25 | 4.06 | 7.15 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, February 2011