TECH NEWS – The German market briefly showed signs of relief, but that window has already slammed shut as prices are moving upward again.
There is still no real improvement in sight for DDR5 memory. Even though the market appeared to stabilize in recent weeks, more and more signs suggest that additional price hikes are coming in the months ahead. In March, it was finally possible to report that average DDR5 prices in Germany had declined. That was the first recorded drop since last July, but it now looks as if that was only a temporary breather, because prices have started rising again, which strongly suggests that further relief is not on the horizon.
The average price of DDR5 RAM kits is currently about 410% higher than it was last July. That is not the absolute peak, since RAM prices were even worse in January and February, but it is still absurdly high. March offered a visible downturn, yet just when it looked like prices might keep easing, the latest retail figures quickly killed that optimism. In the end, the decline amounted to nothing more than a mild correction, and it broadly lines up with what has been happening in other parts of the world as well.
That said, the average price of all DDR5 kits in Germany does not tell the whole story on its own. Looking at individual products, many DDR5 kits actually dipped slightly, but the 2×48 GB DDR5-6400 kit posted the biggest increase. In theory, it makes sense that higher-capacity kits would see the sharpest jumps, but that is not always how it plays out, because earlier we also saw certain 16 GB and 32 GB DDR5 kits rise even faster than some 48 GB models.
The figures from 3D Center are based on DDR5 retail pricing tracked across several German retailers, which makes them fairly reliable and gives a realistic snapshot of the German DRAM market. That may not mirror the global memory market perfectly, but similar trends have been visible in North America and other regions too. DDR5 prices are expected to remain around similar levels over the coming weeks, but this volatility could easily remain with us for years.
And on top of all that, Hungarian prices are likely even worse, because if there is one place where a 27% VAT rate hits like a sledgehammer, it is here.
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