Sudden price drop in chips spooks investors

New Delhi, Jan 16 (ANI): The 122 billion dollar memory chip industry had an incredible year due to robust hunger for smartphones and cloud services. But the surge could come grinding to a halt after prices for memory chips saw a sudden drop. The repercussions are expected to show up in shop windows very soon. Smartphone makers, who are responsible for a third of global memory chip demand, have been pressing suppliers to lower their prices. Memory chip prices dropped nearly 5 percent in the fourth quarter. This in turn sparked shares in Samsung and its rival SK Hynix to dip last week. The growth rate is also expected to drop by more than half this year. This is an industry known for ups and downs. And analysts say chipmakers can expect an even keel for at least the year ahead.