According to market sources, LCD monitor vendors in Taiwan have no plans to increase the prices of LCD monitors despite rising panel costs, fearing that raising their product prices will dampen sales during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. The vendors will wait until after the mid-February holidays to determine whether they will hike monitor prices.

    Towards the end of 2009, monitor vendors' inventory replenishments tightened panel supply, causing monitor panel prices to start rising in November 2009, the sources noted. LCD monitor panel prices are US$1-2 higher in January 2010 than in December 2009, while prices for 22-inch monitors have dropped to NT$4,600 -4,900 (US$143.64-153.01) currently from NT$5,200-5,500 in October 2009.

    The sources said, some vendors expect monitor panel prices to drop after the holiday as demand will decline. But some other vendors believe that monitor panel prices will remain flat as supply will still be tight.