Weekly brief · Week of Sep 7, 2026
DDR5 spot sets fresh high while DDR4 pauses after 12-week run
Updated Sep 14, 2026 00:00 UTC
DDR5 chip spot extended higher this week, averaging $54.35, up 0.5% w/w and marking the highest weekly average in the 32 weeks of tracked data. DDR4 spot broke its recent run with a 0.7% w/w decline to $51.79, although it still leads on medium-term gains at +29.2% over 12 weeks. The market remains in an Expansion regime for a fifth straight week with medium confidence, but the pace of gains is slowing rather than accelerating. Module pricing continues to follow chip spot closely, while contract pricing remains stale at 13 days old and still shows no reset event.
Key numbers
| Series | Weekly avg | Week | 4 weeks | 12 weeks | vs high | 12-week trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDR5 | $54.35 | +0.5% | +3.9% | +19.7% | 0.0% | |
| DDR4 | $51.79 | -0.7% | +4.9% | +29.2% | -0.7% | |
| GDDR6 | $11.78 | +0.5% | +0.9% | +2.3% | -7.8% | |
| DDR5 Module | $230 | +0.1% | +3.6% | +10.0% | -8.0% |
Scorecard
| Regime | Expansion: spot and module prices are rising together |
| Confidence | Medium |
| Spot momentum | Spot gains are slowing |
| Module pass-through | Module prices are following chip spot |
| Contract reset | No contract reset has been seen |
How spot, module and contract compare
DDR5 chip spot has gained 3.9% over four weeks, while DDR5 module pricing is up 3.6% over the same period, indicating strong pass-through from chips into modules at 93% of the spot move. DDR5 chips are trading at 1.05x DDR4 pricing, slightly narrower than 1.06x four weeks ago after DDR4's pullback this week. Contract pricing continues to lag spot moves: the latest tracked SO-DIMM contracts, dated 2026-08-31, showed increases of 2.3% for DDR5 8GB SO-DIMM, 2.2% for DDR4 8GB SO-DIMM, and 1.9% for DDR4 16GB SO-DIMM. No tracked contract item has reached the 10.0% threshold required for a reset signal.
| Contract item | Price | Change | Print date |
|---|---|---|---|
| DDR5 8GB SO-DIMM | $133 | +2.3% | Aug 31 |
| DDR4 16GB SO-DIMM | $270 | +1.9% | Aug 31 |
| DDR4 8GB SO-DIMM | $142 | +2.2% | Aug 31 |
What changed
- DDR5 chip spot averaged $54.35, up 0.5% w/w, up 3.9% over 4 weeks, and up 19.7% over 12 weeks.
- DDR4 chip spot averaged $51.79, down 0.7% w/w, but still up 4.9% over 4 weeks and 29.2% over 12 weeks.
- GDDR6 spot averaged $11.78, up 0.5% w/w and up 0.9% over 4 weeks.
- DDR5 Module pricing averaged $230.0, up 0.1% w/w and up 3.6% over 4 weeks.
- Expansion regime extended to 5 consecutive weeks with medium confidence as chip and module pricing continue rising together.
Regime call
Expansion (medium confidence), 5th week in this regime
What to watch next
- A contract reset signal requires a tracked SO-DIMM contract increase of 10.0% or more; the latest contract move was 2.3% for DDR5 8GB SO-DIMM.
- Module pass-through remains confirmed while module pricing keeps at least 65% of the pace of chip spot gains.
- DDR5 momentum remains constructive while weekly averages hold above the prior week's $54.05 level.
- Watch whether DDR5 maintains pricing near the current four-week high of $54.35 or slips back toward the four-week low of $53.28.