prices

ASUS and Gigabyte, among other graphics card manufacturers, plan to raise product prices in the mainland Chinese market again in September, by up to 500 yuan (approximately 2,300 New Taiwan dollars). The price increase effect will also boost the performance of ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Leadtek, and Chengqi.According to reports from mainland Chinese media IT Home, ASUS will raise the net cost price of the NVIDIA RTX 5070 series by 150 to 300 yuan in September, while prices for other series models will remain unchanged. Gigabyte will increase the price of all models in the NVIDIA RTX 5060TI 16G series by 200 yuan in September, while other models will remain the same. AMD's RX 9070 XT series will increase by 200 yuan; the RX 9060 XT 16G/8G series will increase by 200 to 250 yuan; and the RX 7650 GRE series will increase by 400 yuan.The main reason for the price increase is the shortage of memory, and production capacity has also shifted towards manufacturing AI computing power GPUs. NVIDIA has again lowered the overall shipment volume of consumer GPUs by 15% to 20% for the third quarter, and the estimated supply for various brands in September is similar to that in August, with supply still tight. The high-end models such as the NVIDIA RTX 5080 and 5070 TI remain among the most out-of-stock models. This year, NVIDIA has raised graphics card prices multiple times, and September marks another increase.

Serenity posted a reminder that the fundamentals of storage shortages have not changed and may even become more acute. The market will shift from one bottleneck sector to another, but the companies themselves remain unchanged; what changes are the valuations and narratives. Serenity added several pieces of evidence suggesting that the storage supply-demand gap may be worse than the market expects: Nikkei reported that Japanese distributors claim the storage demand gap has reached 40% to 60%, and prices may rise by about 50% by the end of the year; SpaceX has not accounted for the approximately $1.3 trillion capital expenditure from ultra-large cloud providers, and total spending may exceed expectations; SanDisk's expected gross margin of 80% is expected to be maintained until 2030; and order visibility for companies like Samsung has extended to 2031.Serenity emphasized that storage stocks are highly volatile, with some of its positions showing unrealized gains of over 270%, making them easier to hold. However, the company's operational fundamentals and short-term stock prices often do not align. The same logic applies to other bottleneck areas such as optical modules, CW lasers, and substrates; after a rebound in stock prices, there is no need to assume that shortages have ended. Storage prices and supply-demand structures remain tight, and market sentiment and valuation narratives are rapidly rotating.

Binance customer service responded to user inquiries regarding losses from AKEUSDT contract trading, stating that during September 3, 05:44 (UTC+8), the AKE token experienced severe price fluctuations across the entire market. Multiple mainstream trading platforms and on-chain trends were basically consistent, indicating market volatility rather than abnormal pricing on a single platform.Binance explained that since Binance has not launched AKE spot trading, the AKEUSDT contract price is calculated based on the spot market prices across the entire network, rather than Binance's own spot market. The liquidation mechanism uses the mark price, which comprehensively references multiple market price data to reduce the impact of abnormal fluctuations. After verification, Binance's system is operating normally, and no anomalies were found in the pricing mechanism; this incident falls under the normal risk of leveraged positions in extreme market conditions.

Nikkei Chinese reported on September 3 that demand for AI servers from Nvidia is driving the semiconductor memory DRAM market to accelerate upward. The price of general DRAM products used in personal computers and other devices increased by 5% month-on-month, while products for industrial equipment saw double-digit increases. Memory manufacturers are prioritizing the supply of AI server-specific memory, and its ripple effect is further spreading.In addition to being used in personal computers, cameras, and smartphones, DRAM is also installed in AI servers and other devices in data centers, serving as temporary data storage. As sellers, memory manufacturers negotiate monthly or quarterly with equipment manufacturers and module manufacturers, who act as buyers, to determine bulk transaction prices. The bulk transaction price for the 16Gb specification of the general model DDR5 used in PCs, game consoles, and servers was set at approximately $40.2 in July, an increase of 5% month-on-month. Prices have risen for seven consecutive months, and executives from electronics trading companies stated that they have reached a historic high.

According to CoinDesk, after the U.S. military intensified airstrikes on Iranian targets, Brent crude oil surpassed $93 per barrel, and WTI approached $90 per barrel, pushing the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up to nearly 4.8%. Risk assets are under pressure, with Bitcoin briefly dropping below $76,500, down more than 1% from midnight, and a nearly 3% correction over the past week.In terms of derivatives, Coinglass data shows that the long-short taker transaction ratio shifted to favor short positions, accounting for about 51.5%, while the overall open interest remained at around 700,000 BTC, indicating that leverage has not significantly increased. The open interest in ETH futures slightly rose alongside a price drop, interpreted as a buildup of short positions. UNI continued to rise, while TRX short positions remained crowded, and the implied volatility of BTC and ETH fell back to previous levels.

Qualcomm announced a double-digit increase in chip prices starting September 1, applicable to chips shipped after that date. Qualcomm informed customers in July that it could no longer absorb rising supplier costs. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon stated in an interview with Reuters that they are simply passing on the significant cost increases they are facing.Apple continues to procure modem chips from Qualcomm for the iPhone 17 models while transitioning to self-developed modems. Qualcomm expects revenue from Apple to decline faster than previously anticipated, dropping about 50% from the September quarter to the December quarter, as supply constraints will reduce Qualcomm's component share in the iPhone 18 series. Qualcomm also provides mobile chips for manufacturers like Samsung, with price increases covering its product line and negotiating separately with customers.

According to a report by Juheng.com, after Samsung Electronics took the lead in raising prices for some advanced and mature processes, the market expects TSMC to follow suit, with prices for its various processes likely to increase by 10% to 15% across the board. According to reports from TrendForce and Nomura Securities, TSMC has completed a new round of price negotiations with customers in mid-year, raising prices for the tight supply of some 3-nanometer N3 processes by up to 15% for the second half of the year. The market further anticipates that by early 2027 at the latest, prices for TSMC's advanced processes such as N2, N3, and N5 may increase by another 5% to 10%.TSMC's N2 and N3 capacities have almost been fully booked by Apple and NVIDIA. The prices for mature processes such as N12, N16, and N28, which have not been adjusted for three consecutive years, may also see a simultaneous increase, with a maximum rise of about 10%. According to estimates from Citi Securities, TSMC's capital expenditure will reach $80 billion in 2027, further increasing to $90 billion in 2028, with this year's capital expenditure already raised to between $52 billion and $56 billion. TSMC announced in July that it would expand its investment in the United States to $265 billion. According to Reuters, Samsung raised prices for some new orders of advanced processes in July, with the 4-nanometer SF4 seeing increases of 10% to 15% for customers in China and the United States.

Federal Reserve Chairman Waller stated, "Although the PCE and CPI data released this summer were better than expected, they did not convince me that there has been a meaningful improvement in the underlying trend of inflation." "Market prices reflect that the market believes we will achieve price stability. I can assure you that the market's judgment is correct."Waller then stated that with inflation rates above 2%, the Federal Reserve's "current top priority should be prices." This highly anticipated speech by Waller comes at a time when there is criticism of its streamlined communication strategy. Economists and market participants believe that this strategy lacks clear articulation regarding the recent economic and monetary policy outlook.Waller's speech seems to address these concerns, as he elaborated more deeply than before on his views regarding the economic situation and the focus of Federal Reserve policy under his leadership. He said, "Let us also clarify another aspect of our goals: price stability will not be achieved automatically, and inflation will not necessarily return on its own. Achieving price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve." It is expected that Waller will not answer questions posed by on-site central bank officials and economists.

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin's rebound in August has driven a surge in the stock prices of some previously underperforming mining companies, reversing the market preference that had shifted towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) mining firms. The latest report from BlocksBridge Consulting shows that Bitcoin's approximately 23% increase over the past week has outperformed most AI-related infrastructure stocks.The stock prices of three mining companies, Canaan, American Bitcoin, and Cango, rose between 41% and 67%, while CoreWeave increased by about 21%, Nebius by 17%, and IREN by 15%. Some mining companies with higher exposure to AI and HPC remained flat or declined. BlocksBridge pointed out that the three main catalysts for Bitcoin's rise include: the U.S. Treasury's announcement on August 19 to at least double the liquidity support for long-term Treasury repurchase agreements; a rise in regulatory optimism following a meeting between the White House and crypto executives, with Trump urging Congress to pass the CLARITY Act; and a short squeeze triggered after Bitcoin's breakout, leading to over $1.6 billion in crypto positions being liquidated within 24 hours.Additionally, BlocksBridge's previous analysis found that publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies' investments in AI data centers are about 15 times their AI-related revenue. From 2026 to date, the AI and HPC revenue of nine listed mining companies has reached $341.2 million, while related capital expenditures have amounted to $5.11 billion.

According to the latest MLCC industry research by TrendForce, South Korean giant Samsung Electro-Mechanics has recently taken the lead in raising prices for OEM and ODM customers for the fourth quarter of 2026, indicating that the MLCC industry has officially entered an upward trend. TrendForce estimates that Samsung Electro-Mechanics will raise the prices of consumer-grade X5R products for OEM and ODM customers by an average of 25% to 30%, in order to suppress order willingness and free up capacity to expand high-end production lines.The high-end X6S products used in AI servers will see an average price increase of 10% to 20% depending on customer negotiations. Japanese manufacturers Murata, TDK, and Kyocera are currently taking a wait-and-see approach, maintaining stable prices, and whether they will follow up with price adjustments will be key to observing whether the upward trend can expand.

Gold prices rose slightly on Thursday due to the depreciation of the dollar and ongoing concerns about the U.S. budget deficit. OANDA analyst Kelvin Wong stated that these factors support gold prices in the medium term. The market is paying attention to the speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Waller to understand the direction of monetary policy.The U.S. Treasury has expanded the scale of long-term bond purchases, raising concerns about the depreciation of the dollar, and gold prices rose more than 5% last week. In addition, the Prime Minister of Qatar will visit Tehran to restart diplomatic mediation.

According to South Korea's Chosun Ilbo, the export prices of DRAM in South Korea continue to soar, with AI-driven HBM production squeezing the supply of ordinary memory. Data shows that from the 1st to the 20th of this month, the export unit price of DRAM from South Korea reached $92,183 per kilogram, a year-on-year increase of 401%, and approximately 12.5 times higher than the low point in January 2023.Goldman Sachs expects the DRAM supply gap to widen from 5.0% this year to 5.9% next year, believing that the HBM required for AI servers and high-capacity server DRAM are absorbing limited production capacity, leading to further tightening of ordinary DRAM supply, with shortages potentially lasting until 2028. TrendForce predicts that by the end of next year, the wafer input for HBM production by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron will account for 30% of the total DRAM wafer input, but HBM will only account for about 13% of the actual DRAM bit supply.Memory manufacturers warn that the supply tightness of DRAM and NAND driven by AI demand may continue until after 2027. SK Hynix stated that from the supply side, 2027 could become the most severe shortage year in the history of the memory industry.

Due to the decline in crude oil prices easing inflation concerns, U.S. Treasury prices rose, and yields on U.S. Treasuries across all maturities fell by 2 to 4 basis points.Treasury Secretary Yellen announced plans to at least double the scale of Treasury buybacks, with the yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries having decreased by about 9 basis points to 5.19%.

Analysis indicates that China's major DRAM manufacturer CXMT's monthly wafer output has reached a peak of approximately 240,000 pieces by the end of 2025, and is expected to remain flat in 2026. Due to the tightening of U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment, especially EUV lithography machines, its capacity for expansion is limited, and substantial expansion will not occur until at least 2027, depending on the progress of the domestic equipment supply chain. According to Goldman Sachs data, CXMT's coverage of domestic DRAM demand is only about 41% in 2026 and about 50% in 2028, reflecting a structural bottleneck for many years.TrendForce data shows that traditional DRAM contract prices are expected to surge by 90%-95% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, followed by another increase of 58%-63% in the second quarter. Jefferies predicts that prices will continue to rise by 40%-50% and 30%-40% in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The price increase for server DRAM is even steeper, with Samsung and SK Hynix proposing price hikes of 60%-70% to clients like Microsoft and Google in the first quarter. S&P Global expects Samsung's traditional DRAM revenue per bit to rise by 116% year-on-year to $0.79 in 2026, while Micron's ASP will increase by 54% to $1.06; Bernstein predicts that SK Hynix's DRAM gross margin could reach 92.7% in the fourth quarter of 2026.Multiple forecasts suggest that effective supply relief may not occur until the end of 2027 or even 2028.

Blockworks Research analyst Shaunda Devens stated that cryptocurrency will remain the best speculative market, as prices and demand will mutually reinforce each other. In stocks, price increases do not directly affect the underlying business; for example, once Apple's stock price reaches a certain level, the price-to-earnings ratio relative to the same income base appears unreasonable.It points out that this is not the case with cryptocurrency; the token business is largely tied to financial asset speculation, where higher prices directly lead to more trading and leverage demand, resulting in increased protocol revenue. Last week, despite tokens rising by as much as 60%, 10 out of 16 sectors saw revenue growth exceeding price increases; perpetual contract revenue rose by 243%, while the corresponding price only increased by 43%. Therefore, tokens do not have a true value ceiling in the short term, and mechanisms such as buybacks and DAT further reinforce this reflexive cycle.

According to the Financial Associated Press, Nvidia will announce its Q2 2027 financial report after the US stock market closes on August 26. Goldman Sachs expects strong performance with potential upward revisions in guidance, but notes that the stock price has already surged since August, with an increase of over 12% in the past two weeks, suggesting that the good news may have already been priced in, making it difficult for excellent performance to boost the stock price. Goldman Sachs' EPS forecasts for Nvidia in Q2 and Q3 are 6% and 12% higher than Wall Street's consensus expectations, respectively, with a target price of $285, which is still slightly below the market average.Goldman Sachs believes there is room for revaluation in the valuation, provided that the profitability of large-scale cloud vendors improves to support capital expenditures, Nvidia maintains caution on its customer financing platform to alleviate concerns about supplier circular financing, and continues to advance large-scale buybacks and dividends. Investors will focus on details of the customer financing platform in the earnings call, progress on the Vera Rubin platform, gross margins and raw material costs, CPU demand driven by AI agents, and the competitive landscape in the industry.Goldman Sachs points out that while GPU demand is strong, there is still a risk of a pullback, and the difficulty of "exceeding expectations and raising guidance" increases each quarter, raising doubts about whether cloud vendors can continue to ramp up capital expenditures. Earlier this month, Nvidia, in collaboration with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, KKR, and others, established a financing platform for AI computing infrastructure, aiming to leverage over $500 billion in third-party capital; concerns about circular financing are rising in the market, and the company needs to release more substantial new information, or else the stock price is more likely to decline rather than surge after the earnings report.