[Insights] Memory Spot Price Update: DDR4 & DDR3 Prices Rise Amid Strong DDR5 Rebound Led by SK hynix

According to TrendForce’s latest memory spot price trend report, regarding DRAM, DDR4 and DDR3 demand remains relatively weak, but their spot prices are rising alongside DDR5’s rebound. As for NAND flash, prices have stabilized, but the spot market sees the increase as driven by production cuts rather than rising demand. Details are as follows:

DRAM Spot Price:

Demand continues to recover in the spot market. The focus remains on DDR5 products, with demand still strong for SK hynix’s DDR5 2Gx8 5600MT/s products. The spot market is experiencing tight supply, with instances of daily quantities being controlled. Consequently, transaction prices have climbed to US$4.95. Although DDR4 and DDR3 products are showing relatively weaker market momentum, their spot prices have also risen along with the rebound in DDR5 prices. To ensure adequate inventory levels, OEMs have raised their procurement budgets for DRAM with commonly used specifications, leading to significant restocking demand. Despite target prices being slightly lower, buyers are more willing to follow the rising spot prices, resulting in an upward trend in both prices and transaction volumes. The average spot price of mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 3200MT/s) has risen by 1.71% from US$1.461 last week to US$1.486 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Price:

Continuing from the above paragraph, reluctance towards selling is also manifesting in the spot market. Module houses are holding onto quite a lot of inventory, but are unwilling to sell at lower prices due to magnified difficulties on acquiring low-priced inventory in the future. Buyers have released extensive amount of inquiries, though transactions are still at a rather low level due to market participants having yet to reach a price consensus. That being said, the declination of prices has halted. Regarding eMMC, buyers are holding onto low existing inventory, which explains the continuous increase of prices. Generally speaking, the spot market understands that the price hike stems from production cuts instead of the anticipation on growing end demand. Spot prices of 512Gb TLC wafers have risen by 3.20% this week, arriving at US$2.580.