The period of price stability is over.

Memory chip prices are once again in a downward spiral as the most popular variety has hit an all-time low on the spot market. The plunge comes after a brief period of price stability which had offered some hope for beleaguered memory chip makers. Micron, one of the largest manufacturers of memory chips, is seeing price declines, after a three-month respite from price decreases, according to a spokesperson. The price of 64-megabit DRAMs, the most widely used memory chip today, fell to a record low on the spot market of $6.70 per chip, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a major Japanese business daily. The report said this was a drop of 17 percent from the end of March and 30 percent lower than mid-February.