The ongoing downward trend in NAND flash contract pricing may reverse this month, as market leader Samsung Electronics plans to raise 8Gbit NAND flash prices by US$1.5 to US$46 while rival Hynix Semiconductor plans to raise its 4Gbit quotes, according to industry sources.

Through July, contract prices for all major NAND flash densities had been dropping throughout the year, with the drops ranging from 19% to 26%, according to figures gathered by DRAMeXchange.Increased demand for memory-supported handsets and game consoles are the two growth drivers for NAND flash demand in the second half of this year, according to local IC distributor Princeton Technology C&C Corp (PTCC) general manager Honda Fan.