Top-end DDR SDRAM prices are on the rise, Taiwanese online DRAM trader DRAMeXchange has reported.

Contract prices for 400MHz DDR rose almost 14 per cent last week over the first two weeks of July, the trader's figures reveal.

By contrast, the spot market prices have settled down. Yesterday's prices were $4.80-5.60 for DDR 400, the same as Friday's prices, and $4.60-5.15 for DDR 333, up just 0.7 per cent of Friday's close.

Register readers have reported rising DDR prices from memory suppliers. Crucial, for example, is now charging £64.61 for a 512MB PC3200 DIMM, up from around £45 three weeks ago, readers tell us.

That has almost certainly occurred because of increased demand among major PC vendors for these types of memory. Initially, that demand put pressure on spot market prices as vendors with long-term purchase deals sucked up top-end DDR chips. Such has been their appetite that inventories have been cleared and contract prices are now rising too, achieving near parity with spot prices.

Owners of 266MHz DDR systems can take little comfort from the price increases. Thanks to memory manufacturers' increased focus on the higher end parts, DDR 266 is becoming harder to buy, pushing up prices. Contract prices 128Mb chips are now up to the $2.302.60 range, an increase of 18.42 per cent.

Module contract prices have risen too, says DRAMeXchange. 256MB PC300 boards have risen 13.89 per cent to $41-45 between the first half of July and the second half of the month. 256MB PC2700 and 2100 board contract prices have gone up 12.12 per cent to $37-39 over the same period. ®