What is chipflation? Hong Kong PS5 up 43%, CPI 1.7%

A PlayStation 5 that cost HK$2,980 last year now costs HK$4,257. A 2TB SSD that sold for about HK$1,600 at the end of 2025 was about HK$2,680 by August. Hong Kong’s official inflation rate is 1.7%. The two figures describe different parts of the same story.

What is chipflation?

Chipflation is the rise in electronics prices that follows when AI servers absorb most of the world’s new memory supply. Cloud companies buy high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM, chipmakers move capacity towards those orders, and the standard memory used in consumer devices runs short.

Contract prices are still climbing. TrendForce expected conventional DRAM contract prices to rise another 13–18% and NAND flash 10–15% in the third quarter of 2026, though the pace is slowing. UPI reported in September that the memory squeeze is lifting electronics prices worldwide.

How much have gadget prices risen in Hong Kong?

Consoles show the clearest pass-through because the same model was repriced.

Visual guide

How much have gadget prices risen in Hong Kong?

Change

• PS5 Digital Editionabout +43%
• PS5 disc versionabout +25%
• Switch 2about +7%
• WD SN7100 2TB SSDabout +68%
• SanDisk 256GB microSDabout +106%

0106

Product	Before	After	Change
PS5 Digital Edition	HK$2,980	HK$4,257	about +43%
PS5 disc version	HK$3,780	HK$4,730	about +25%
Switch 2	HK$3,450	HK$3,700	about +7%
WD SN7100 2TB SSD	about HK$1,600	about HK$2,680	about +68%
SanDisk 256GB microSD	about HK$180	HK$370	about +106%

The PS5 prices took effect on 1 May (unwire.hk) and the Switch 2 price on 1 September, with Nintendo citing memory costs (GameApps.hk). The SSD and microSD prices are shop quotes collected before the Computer Festival. Across iPhone generations, the 1TB iPhone 18 Pro is HK$15,799, HK$3,000 above the 17 Pro, while the 256GB step-up is HK$1,100 (Techritual). The bigger the storage, the bigger the jump.

Does Hong Kong’s CPI show chipflation?

It shows a turn, not a surge.

Composite CPI component, year on year	January 2026	August 2026
Durable goods	−2.8%	+0.8%
Information and communication (COICOP)	−2.3%	+0.4%
Headline	—	+1.7%
Underlying	—	+1.9%

Hong Kong durable goods prices in August 2026, year on year, after −2.8% in January

When the August figures came out, the government said fuel-related items remained high while “price pressures on other components were broadly in check”. It did not mention chips. The C&SD’s COICOP table shows information and communication up 1.4% for higher-spending households, CPI(C), and down 0.3% for lower-spending households, CPI(A). Gadgets take a small slice of the household budget, so even large price jumps on consoles and storage move the index by very little.

Is Hong Kong a seller or a buyer of chipflation?

Neither, in any large way. Hong Kong mostly passes electronics through.

Indicator	Value	Period
Total exports	+50.7%, 29th month of growth	July 2026
Office machines and data processing exports	+106.5%	July 2026
Export unit value index	+13.7%	July 2026
Import unit value index	+13.6%	July 2026
GDP deflator	+2.4%	2Q 2026

July exports rose 50.7%, mostly on volume: the quantity index rose 31.6%, and the export unit value index rose only 0.1 point more than import unit values. In the second quarter the goods export deflator rose 12.5% and the goods import deflator 12.4%. Traders pay more and charge more, so the margin barely changes. That is why Hong Kong’s nominal GDP did not jump the way it did in memory-producing economies such as South Korea and Taiwan.

Is chipflation caused by too much money?

No. Hong Kong’s money supply is growing slowly, and the price increases are concentrated in memory-heavy products.

Indicator	Year on year	Period
M2	+2.65%	June 2026
Composite CPI	+1.7%	August 2026
Real GDP	+4.3%	2Q 2026

With the Hong Kong dollar pegged to the US dollar, local interest rates follow the Federal Reserve, and no local rate move could add memory supply. For the long-run gap between money growth and prices, see M2 and CPI as two measures of value.

How long will chipflation last?

IDC expects supply to stay tight until 2027. No Hong Kong company or public body has published its own timeline. TrendForce’s third-quarter forecast still points up, but by less each quarter, so the next test is whether fourth-quarter contract prices flatten.

Open the past money calculator →