Memory chips just got more expensive. Thanks to Japan’s restrictions on high-tech material exports to South Korea and Toshiba’s production-halting plant blackout, DRAM prices have risen by more than 20 percent in recent days.
There hasn’t been any real change in terms of supply and demand, so these appear to be the definitive reasons for increasing costs. Officials had warned that memory prices would “skyrocket” if Japan’s restrictions hampered production at Samsung and SK Hynix.
According to industry sources and market researcher DRAMeXchange, the spot price of 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAM, a benchmark price for the category, closed the week recording an average three-dollars-and-74-cents in Friday’s trading.
It’s up 14-point-six percent from last week’s closing price and more than 23 percent higher than that of July fifth, a day after Japan’s export curbs took effect.