Early December contract prices for mainstream 32Gb NAND flash memory remained unchanged while those for 64Gb parts saw a narrower decrease, according to data posted on DRAMeXchange.

Prices for 32Gb MLC NAND chips and same-density 3-bit per cell ones averaged US$3.48 and US$3.28, respectively, in the first half of December. Both went flat on a gradual pick-up in orders from system OEMs recently, DRAMeXchange said.

Meanwhile, 64Gb MLC chips were quoted at US$6.09 on average in the first half of December, down by a mere 0.5%, according to DRAMeXchange.

Prices for both 32Gb and 64Gb chips had previously been adjusted downward significantly due to anticipation that demand for the year-end holiday season would turn weaker than expected affected by the prolonged debt crisis in Europe, DRAMeXchange pointed out. Prices started to stabilize recently as demand from OEM clients is warming up slightly despite their continued wait-and-see attitude toward demand in the fourth quarter, DRAMeXchange said.

Average prices for 16Gb MLC chips fell about 5% to US$2.48 during the former part of December, showing larger decreases compared to higher-density parts, according to DRAMeXchange.

In other news, industry observers generally expect solid-state drives (SSDs) to see adoption expand substantially during the second half of 2012 and 2013, when average pricing for 1GB of NAND flash memory falls to US$1 and below.