Dramurai wait for memory prices to bottom out

Where have we heard this before, we wonder?

The report, in the Korea Times, quotes analysts as saying that seasonal factors, the collapse of a Micron-Hynix deal, oversupply and lack of demand have all conspired to drive the price of memory chips - the 128Mbit chip being the reference part - below $2.

And the piece also claims that HP and Compaq temporarily stopped buying DRAM during the takeover talks, further affecting themarket.

Nevertheless, it also says that prices of the reference DRAM are likely to fall to $1.5 before the market starts to recover and this will mean a big hole in profits for the memory manufacturers - the Dramurai.

Nevertheless, it appears that the memory market is relying on PC demand to start bouncing back in the second half. Most dealers, distributors and vendors we've talked to during this quarter say that sales have failed to bounce back.

That's despite the introduction of several high powered chips during the quarter, and against a background of lower prices on complete systems.

It appears that people are not so enamoured with PCs as they once were, preferring to either spend their money on other items right now or to save it for the proverbial rainy day. µ

See Also
Korea Times
Continuous INQ memory coverage