Spot prices look positive both for SDRAM and DDR this week.

SDRAM continue raising.

Is it sellers market for SDRAM right now? As we survey DRAM markers to hear their SDRAM market perspectives, they seem to want to hold tight their shipments and allow prices to rise up. The official high spot quotation prices are $2.3 and $2.5 for 128Mb (16Mx8) from Hynix and Samsung, respectively; and $3.5 and $4.0 for 256Mb (32Mx8) from Hynix and Samsung. However, the real spot transaction prices are lower at $2 and $3 for 128Mb and 256Mb, respectively. Before the Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year - early of Feb.), there still should be room for prices to keep trending up a little bit.

Major demand is coming from the Mainland China market. The big prices gap between SDRAM and DDR is creating demand for some low-end, price sensitive market. Major brand SO-DIMMs (16Mx16 - for notebooks) are in tight supply right now.

DDR pricing looks firm Prior to next week.

The rush short-term demand is coming from the US and European markets for DDR and low inventory in the channel is holding DDR prices up and keeping prices from dipping down further before re-filling the pre-Christmas orders. Most demand is coming from high frequency 333MHz products. This should be a short-term phenomenon that will most likely end this week or early next week as the Christmas holiday approaches, after which, prices should again, trend downward.