DDR 2 SDRAM chip contract prices have jumped 18 per cent this month compared to the average price during the last two weeks of January, market watcher DRAMeXchange has said. And with both Samsung, Hynix and other memory makers already implementing price-rises this month, the increase is going to continue.

Contract prices for 256MB 400MHz DDR 2 DIMMs hit $20-21.5, up from $17-18.75 in the second half of January, DRAMeXchange said. Contract prices for 512MB DIMMs rose from $34-37.5 to $40-43, it added. On the spot market, prices for the two DIMM types reached $19-20.5 and $38-41, respectively.

Some vendors charged second-tier PC makers even higher prices for DIMMs - $22 for 256MB modules and $44 for 512MB parts, the researcher claimed. While supplies remain tight, many such customers were forced to swallow the higher prices, it said.

Hynix this week was reported to have raised its price quotes by five to ten per cent, while Samsung raised its prices by a "significant" amount, according to a Bloomberg report which added that Nanya had upped prices by a whopping 20 per cent. ProMOS has put its prices up by a similar margin, DigiTimes said today. ProMOS said the increases arise from insufficient supplies of DDR, especially in the spot market. ®

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