Early June contract prices for NAND flash memory will not be available until later in the month as chip suppliers have not yet concluded negotiations with system OEMs . The price tracker did not elaborate on the cause.
Nevertheless, pointed out that slower-than-expected shipments of smartphones and tablet PCs in the second quarter will likely impact NAND chip pricing over the short term. The weakening in end-market demand is due to macroeconomic factors.
Smartphone companies are seeing a particularly weak second quarter. Except brand-name players, others are likely to report weaker-than-expected shipments for the second quarter.
Meanwhile, sales of non-iPad devices thus far in the second quarter are not as strong as previously expected, DRAMeXchange said. Shortages of parts and components such as touch panels and camera sensors that disrupted shipments of new tablets earlier in the quarter were another cause.
In addition, retail sales for flash cards and drives remain sluggish. Module firms' NAND flash inventories are already above normal. But a seasonal pickup in demand is expected to surface in August, it added.
NAND flash contract prices for late May saw double-digit declines.