Taipei – On the same day that Kingston Technology predicted an uptick in demand for DRAM in the third quarter, DRAMeXchange says prices are likely to go up by between ten and fifteen percent in the coming weeks.
The two biggest DRAM suppliers, Powerchip and Elpida, have stopped shipping chips to the spot market, resulting in tighter supply. DDR2 1Gb spot prices have stayed strong at $1.2 and industry watchers expect to see prices move nearer $1.50 by end of June.
DRAMeXchange reckons that DRAM contract prices will move to between $9 – $10 a GB from $8 to $8.50 last month, a 15 percent increase. Some DRAM makers are reportedly looking at a target of $12 – $13 a gigabyte by the end of this month.
Better than expected PC shipments in the last three months helped use up PC makers’ DRAM stocks. As DRAM makers cut back production, prices can only be driven up and 1GB of DDR2 may soon cost $1.50.
The DRAM manufacturers are obviously hoping that the introduction of Windows 7 in October will spur shipments of memory too. The jury is still out on that one.
