Electronics buyers reported in April that business was beginning to pick up, according to PURCHASING magazine's monthly survey of business conditions. Forty-two percent said that business was improving, compared to 33% in March. Thirty percent said business was down compared to 36% in March. The overall business activity index for electronics increased from 48.2 in March to 55.9 in April.

Buyers are apparently optimistic that business will continue to pick up. Evidence: The forward demand index increased from 55.8 in March to 59.8 in April. That means that over the next 90 days buyers are expecting to increase their number of purchase orders. In fact 48% of respondents said they expected to increase their purchasing over the next 90 days compared to 39% in March. Only 29% said their purchase orders would decline over the next quarter, compared to 27% in March.

However, demand for semiconductors remains weak. The semiconductor demand index fell to 43.7 in April. Only 19% of buyers surveyed said they expected to increase their chip buying over the next 30 days. That's down two percentage points from the month before. Forty-nine percent said their semiconductor buying plans would remain the same.

Meanwhile chip prices are stabilizing, according to the survey. The semiconductor price index fell from 47.6 in March to 42.5 in April. The index fell because 70% of buyers reported prices were stabile, up from 63% in February. Twenty-three percent reported chip tags fell, compared to 21% in February.