Memory prices, which began their decline in the second half of 2018, are continuing to decline.
DRAM prices fell more than 10% in February as well as in January. This is interpreted as the result of sluggish memory demand.
According to market researcher DRAM Exchange’s memory survey data, fixed-price prices of DDR4 8 Gigabit (Gb) 2133MHz chips, which are used as mainstream general purpose PC DRAM, decreased 14.5% to 5.13 dollars in February from January. DRAM prices fell 17.24% from a year earlier in January. It has been continuing its slump for two consecutive months.
DRAM Exchange said that this is the off-season and that memory buyers have reduced their purchases due to inventory problems, which is the background of the price declines. Moreover the price of DRAM in the first quarter will drop by nearly 30% from the average fixed transaction price in the fourth quarter of last year. DRAM Exchange said that it is the first decline in DRAM prices at such a high degree since 2011, "DRAM prices are unlikely to rebound in the near future," DRAM Exchange said.
NAND flash prices have also been falling steadily since the second half of last year. Fixed-trade prices for 128Gb multi-level cell (MLC) products, which are general-purpose flagship NAND flash memory cards (for memory cards and USB), fell 6.64% to $4.22 compared to the previous month.
An industry observer said, "Even though the supply is not greatly expanding, the price is falling due to the sluggishness of the downstream industry. The memory industry plans to concentrate on technology development rather than reducing facility investment this year."