LCD screen prices could fall: analyst

Prices of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) used in computers and televisions may renew a slide on cost cutting from suppliers opening new factories, an analyst said.

The price of a TV screen measuring 32 inches diagonally may drop 2.3 percent to US$635 by next Tuesday from US$650 last month, Taipei-based market researcher WitsView Technology Corp (聯景科技) said on its Web site. A 15-inch panel used in notebook computers will decline to US$125 from US$128, the researcher said.

"As new capacity comes onstream, price competition is about to commence," WitsView researcher Henry Wang (王鶴偉) said in an e-mailed statement.

Prices in the US$36 billion industry dominated by Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea have tumbled by more than a third since the middle of last year, following 18 months of gains.

Suppliers may post losses if the price of a 17-inch screen falls below US$180, WitsView said last year.

A 17-inch monitor will hold firm at US$152 to March 15, the researcher said.

The prices of 32-inch, 17-inch and 15-inch TV screens last month were unchanged from January, WitsView said.