DRAM prices continue to fall on weak PC demand

Prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips fell to a new record low in the first half of the month due to a slowdown in global economic growth that hurt demand, industry data showed Tuesday.

The average contract price for 2Gb 256Mx8 1333/1600 MHz chips stood at $0.84 for the first half of October, slipping 2.33 percent from the price in the second half of last month, according to the data by Taiwan-based DRAMeXchange.

The figure is the lowest ever price for the product and is a sharp drop from a peak of $4.34 in September 2010.

The latest drop stemmed from a downturn in the global PC industry due to uncertainties in the world economy.

However, prices of NAND flash memory chips, which are widely used in mobile devices such as smartphones and music players, jumped in the first half of the month.

The average contract price for 64Gb 8Gx8 MLC NAND flash memory chips stood at $4.99 in the first half of October, gaining 17.14 percent from the second half of last month.

The price hit a record low of $3.84 in June but has since been on the upward trend.

The comparable figure for 32Gb 4Gx8 MLC NAND flash also rose 7.47 percent to $2.59 over the cited period. (Yonhap)