According to market research firm ‘DRAMeXchange,’ the average monthly price of memory semiconductors in February showed that DRAM prices remained stable while NAND prices rose for the second consecutive month.
On February 28, DRAMeXchange reported that the average fixed transaction price for general PC DRAM products (DDR4 8Gb 1Gx8) was $1.35, the same as the previous month. DRAM prices, after turning downward last August, saw a double-digit drop in September (-17.07%) and November (-20.59%) but have shown no fluctuations since December.
For general NAND flash products used in memory cards and USBs (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC), the average fixed transaction price increased by 5.29% from the previous month, reaching $2.29. NAND prices had been declining for four consecutive months starting last September, then rebounded in January and have risen for two consecutive months.
TrendForce, another market research firm, commented on this memory price trend by stating, “On the demand side, major PC manufacturers (OEMs) increased production in anticipation of U.S. government tariff hikes.” As a result, device shipments from the fourth quarter of last year to the second quarter of this year have been revised upward, and PC OEMs’ DRAM inventories have rapidly decreased.
TrendForce also noted, “Many PC OEMs and DRAM suppliers completed negotiations for Q1 module contracts in February, with transaction prices falling by 10-15%.” As most Q1 contracts have been concluded, they predict that DRAM transactions in March will be limited.
Furthermore, TrendForce observed that the emergence of China’s generative AI ‘DeepSeek’ led to a sharp increase in DDR5 prices. They also foresee that participation by global small to mid-sized AI model developers in the market will accelerate.