Polyester Staple Leads Gains, Spandex Retreats: Textile Raw Material Market Enters Divergent Adjustment

Polyester staple fiber surged 5.19% in a single week, PTA followed with 4.10%, while spandex fell 1.69%—the textile commodity price list for Aug 31 to Sep 4, 2026 shows the sharpest divergence in six months. Thirteen monitored products rose and three fell, with the sector's average gain at only 1.05%, masking deeper structural shifts.

Market Context

Weekly data shows polyester staple fiber started at 7,816.55 CNY/ton and closed at 8,222.50 CNY/ton, with year-on-year growth expanding to 26.75%. PTA climbed from 6,303.50 to 6,562.25 CNY/ton intraweek, marking a 38.43% year-on-year surge—the largest among tracked items. The nylon family strengthened overall, with POY, FDY, and DTY rising 1.71%, 1.62%, and 1.55% respectively, year-on-year gains ranging from 15.94% to 23.44%.

Cotton textiles performed modestly: cotton yarn 21S rose 1.43%, 32S up 0.90%, yet raw cotton fell 1.30% to 18,180.33 CNY/ton. Viscose staple and rayon yarn gained less than 1%. This "strong chemical fiber, weak cotton" pattern signals a dual repricing of costs and demand at the raw material level.

Industrial Impact

The collective uptrend in the polyester chain is primarily driven by rising PTA costs. PTA's 38.43% year-on-year increase indicates that upstream petrochemical cost pressures are transmitting downstream. Polyester staple's gains exceeding PTA itself suggest that restocking demand from spinning and nonwovens sectors provides additional support. For buyers, this means the cost floor for polyester fabrics is rising, and contract quotes in late Q3 may face adjustments.

Spandex fell 1.69% to 29,000 CNY/ton, starkly contrasting with the chemical fiber chain. Spandex is mainly used in stretch fabrics; its decline may reflect slowing demand for sportswear and casual apparel, or new capacity release after high margins. Either way, stretch fabric suppliers face narrowing pricing power and stronger buyer pressure.

Raw cotton dropped 1.30% while cotton yarn rose slightly, indicating margin transfer from fiber to yarn. Stable weather in Xinjiang and expectations of new crop arrivals pressured cotton, while firm yarn prices stem from low mill inventories and short-term restocking. This scissors gap between falling raw material and rising finished goods is unsustainable; yarn prices may follow cotton lower.

Practical Recommendations

For Buyers - With polyester raw materials on an upward trend, lock in prices for polyester staple and PTA for short-to-medium-term orders to avoid further cost increases. - Cotton yarn remains relatively resilient, but after cotton's decline, yarn faces catch-down risk; consider phased purchasing to average costs. - Spandex is in a downtrend; delay stretch fabric purchases until prices stabilize, but monitor supplier inventories to avoid sharp rebounds.

For Exporters - Given raw material divergence, adopt "short-term lock + floating clause" pricing, especially for polyester products, with clear adjustment mechanisms to hedge dual volatility of materials and exchange rates. - With PTA up nearly 40% year-on-year, assess continued petrochemical price hikes before accepting long-term orders to avoid margin erosion. - Leverage the cotton-yarn price window to adjust export product mix, increasing high-count yarn and blended fabrics to add value and buffer raw material fluctuations.