World chip sales grew a little in July, with sale up just 1.8 per cent on the previous month's figure, the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported this past Friday. Sales for the month total $20.1bn.

So much for the price cuts announced by both AMD and Intel in early July. If they stimulated the market, they did so only to a small degree. "July sales reflect the historical pattern for the industry with growth in unit demand coupled with declining average selling prices," the SIA said.

Still, July's total is 11.5 per cent up on July 2005's figure, thanks to growth "across a broad range of end markets and geographic regions as well", the SIA said. ®