Intel and longtime rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have boosted their sales forecasts for the fourth quarter.
This would suggest holiday sales of personal computers may not be quite as grim as many had feared.
Intel indicated it now sees fourth-quarter sales at the high end of its previously given forecasted range of $6.2 billion to $6.8 billion, and may exceed that.
AMD expects sales to rise 10 per cent or a bit more from the third quarter's $765.9 million. Last month, the company forecast sales to be little changed to up slightly.
Analysts and investors have raised expectations since last week, when Intel chief financial officer Mr Andy Bryant said at an investor conference in Arizona that he was increasingly confident in its quarterly sales. Intel now expects fourth-quarter sales of $6.7 billion to $6.9 billion.
"In fact revenue may slightly exceed our previous expectations," Mr Bryant said last night. "Business appears to have returned to seasonal patterns".
Typically, fourth-quarter sales are higher than in the third, paced by holiday sales. Intel also said supplies for its Pentium 4 chips are tight and it can't get enough chips to customers who want them.
