Stable Upward Trend
The price of semiconductor memory chips is steadily rising, based on a balance between supply and demand. This trend is likely to have a positive effect on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's performance in the third quarter.
According to semiconductor e-commerce site DRAMeXchange on August 26, the average price of NAND flash memory (64Gb 8Gx8 MLC) amounted to US$3.05 as of August 15, nearly a 9.3 percent increase from April 30. An increased demand for mobile devices and solid state drives apparently contributed to an upward trend in NAND flash memory chip prices.
The situation for DRAM is similar. The average sale price of DRAM (DDR3 4Gb_512Mx8 1333/1600MHz) was US$3.69 as of August 15, up 5.4 percent from April 30. After going through an adjustment period in April, DRAM prices remain steady.
Industry analysts are saying that DRAM prices are likely to be steady in the third quarter as well, owing to a demand for new mobile devices, servers, and PCs. Hence, the trend is expected to be reflected positively in the performance of Samsung and SK Hynix.