ATI HD 7970 is out on the 9th of this month I believe.
ATI HD 7950 is not coming out till early Feb.
As for if they will effect the price of current cards its hard to say. The reports I've read is that Nvidia are holding prices on their top cards for now. The tests I've seen run show that the new ATI cards are definitely out performing the Nvidia Single cards, but not by a HUGE amount, 20-30% and up to 50-60% on older games.
I think Nvidia will either hold their pricing or drop it a little bit just so clean up whats left of their loyalist market before they release their new card later this year.
In short, don't hold out for massive price drops but the fact is no one will know till the 9th.
