Monthly chip sales slid globally for the first time in nine months, though they were still 29 percent higher than in December of 2009.

Semiconductor sales fell 9 percent for the year as the recession cut demand for computers, cell phones and other gadgets, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported Monday.

Still, the SIA expects sales of phones and personal computers, which account for about 60 percent of all chip sales, to rise in the low to mid-teens this year.

The organization expects sales to slow in the first quarter of the year, which is a normal, seasonal decline.

Revenue for the final three months of the year came to $22.4 billion, the group said Monday, up from $17.4 billion in December 2008.

For the year, revenue tumbled to $226.3 billion from $248.6 billion.

SIA said the decline was not as bad as was feared. It had forecast sales of $219.7 billion for the year, a decline of nearly 12 percent.

"2009 turned out to be a better year for the global semiconductor industry than expected," said SIA President George Scalise. "A strong focus on inventories throughout the supply chain mitigated the impact of the worldwide economic downturn."