Memory chip prices up; analysts say sustained recovery may be coming

Prices of semiconductor memory chips, one of the main export items of Korea, are showing signs of recovery. According to DRAM Exchange, an electronic commerce Web site for memory chips, the prices of 256 megabit dynamic random access memory, or DRAM chips that run at 266 megahertz, the industry standard, were up as of Thursday by 0.3 percent over May to $3.31 each. The prices of high-end 256 megabit double data rate DRAM memory chips that run at 400 megahertz rose 5.6 percent over the previous month to reach $3.39. Prices of the 256 megabit DRAM had tumbled to $2 level at the end of February. The prices recovered to the $3 level in March, and have been stable for three consecutive months. Demand has increased along with restored stability in prices, and Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, said that its DRAM inventory has gone down from a week’s worth to three days’ worth since mid-May. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. also reported a rapid reduction in its DRAM inventories. Analysts are releasing optimistic forecasts. DRAM Exchange said in a recent market report that DRAM prices would rise in earnest starting in mid June. Goldman Sachs also recently forecast that DRAM prices were on their way to recovery. Middlemen are increasing their stocks in preparation for possible price rises in the second half of the year, causing supply shortages now, analysts said. Intel Corp.’s introduction of a new chipset may also contribute to a recovery of personal computer manufacturing, analysts said. “It seems that DRAM prices bottomed out in February,” Choi Seok-po, head researcher at Woori Securities, said. by Choi Ji-young