Last year, it was memory chips. This year, the hottest commodity in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics market is a component no larger than a postage stamp.

Chinese vendors of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are riding a massive wave of soaring prices driven by the global artificial intelligence boom.

Because these minuscule components are vital for regulating electric currents, global manufacturing lines are scrambling to keep up with skyrocketing demand from AI server clusters and electric vehicles.

The resulting supply crunch has sent the spot market into overdrive, with prices jumping two- to fourfold since Chinese New Year for high-capacitance MLCCs – components designed to store and discharge large amounts of electrical energy to support power-hungry processors – according to a distributor surnamed Wu.

“I don’t see any signs of prices cooling down,” said Wu, who mainly sells components from Japanese industry leader Murata Manufacturing to fellow traders and secondary distributors.

While high-capacity components are driving demand, the price hikes are hitting the spot market across the board. Some models have surged from 10 yuan per 1,000 units to 40 yuan (US$5.90), Wu said. But while inquiries are flooding his shop, actual transactions remain sluggish as buyers balk at the inflated price tags.