Thanks to a long-awaited price rebound at the DRAM contract market, a brisk sentiment is expected to spread across to the spot market, with a mild price rebound expected to emerge in the near future, according to inSpectrum.
Contract pricing for the mainstream 2GB DDR3 modules posted a 2% growth to US$17.30 in the later half of March, inSpectrum recorded. The uphill price trend is expected to last throughout the second quarter, driven by OEMs' inventory pre-stocking until June. With the Japan quake casting a shadow over raw materials supply, the anticipated price rise may gain extra strength, the firm noted.
Given that market signals are positive and solid, transaction of DRAM in the spot market are expected to turn brisk, with a mild rebound expected to follow soon. Yet, the rebound should be in a mild fashion as most leading memory module houses are still holding considerable inventory on hand. No big price rebound will be seen until these module houses have trimmed their inventory level to below-average levels, inSpectrum projected.
As of the noon session of March 25, spot prices for 1Gb branded and white-brand DDR3 chips dropped 1% and 2% to US$1.18 and US$0.93, respectively.
| inSpectrum: DRAM contract price, 2H Jan-2H Mar 2011 (US$) |
| | 2GB DDR2 | 2GB DDR3 |
| 2H Jan | 22.4 | 17.0 |
| 1H Feb | 22.4 | 17.0 |
| 2H Feb | 23.1 | 17.0 |
| 1H Mar | 23.1 | 17.0 |
| 2H Mar | 23.3 | 17.3 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
| inSpectrum: 1Gb DRAM spot price, Mar 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | Branded DDR2 | White-brand DDR2 | Branded DDR3 | White-brand DDR3 |
| 03/21 | 1.42 | 1.39 | 1.18 | 0.94 |
| 03/22 | 1.39 | 1.34 | 1.18 | 0.94 |
| 03/23 | 1.38 | 1.32 | 1.18 | 0.93 |
| 03/24 | 1.37 | 1.32 | 1.18 | 0.93 |
| 03/25 | 1.37 | 1.32 | 1.18 | 0.93 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
| inSpectrum: 2Gb DDR3 spot price, Mar 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | Branded | White-brand |
| 03/21 | 1.99 | 1.60 |
| 03/22 | 1.96 | 1.60 |
| 03/23 | 1.95 | 1.60 |
| 03/24 | 1.95 | 1.60 |
| 03/25 | 1.95 | 1.60 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
| inSpectrum: MLC NAND flash spot price, Mar 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | 16Gb | 32Gb |
| 03/21 | 3.92 | 5.29 |
| 03/22 | 3.88 | 5.14 |
| 03/23 | 3.90 | 5.19 |
| 03/24 | 3.88 | 5.23 |
| 03/25 | 3.88 | 5.23 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
| inSpectrum: TLC NAND flash spot price, Mar 21-25, 2011 (US$) |
| Date | 32Gb | 64Gb |
| 03/21 | 4.53 | 8.14 |
| 03/22 | 4.53 | 8.14 |
| 03/23 | 4.53 | 8.14 |
| 03/24 | 4.56 | 8.16 |
| 03/25 | 4.56 | 8.16 |
Source: inSpectrum, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011