In the second week of June 2026, the price chart for textile bulk commodities drew a clear dividing line: the entire polyester chain turned positive, while cotton and nylon came under pressure. According to public industry data, out of 17 monitored varieties, 5 rose, 5 fell, with the overall average edging down 0.14%. Behind this seemingly mild fluctuation lie three overlapping logics: cost pass-through, demand shifts, and inventory cycles.
Polyester chain: small steps under cost push
The top three gainers were all from the polyester family: polyester DTY rose 0.65% WoW, polyester FDY rose 0.37%, and PTA rose 0.28%. Their year-on-year gains stood at 15.24%, 21.71%, and 35.62% respectively, showing the chain has accumulated significant upward momentum over the past year. Polyester POY, though up only 0.15%, still jumped 18.43% YoY, indicating the entire polyester sector is in a relatively strong price channel.
The direct driver is the sustained high price of crude oil. PTA, as a downstream petrochemical product, is highly sensitive to crude oil fluctuations. When oil costs remain firm, PTA prices gain support, transmitting along the chain from PTA to polyester POY to DTY/FDY. For fabric buyers, this means narrowing room for negotiation on polyester products, especially differentiated polyester filaments where suppliers hold stronger bargaining power due to concentrated supply.
Interestingly, polyester staple fiber edged down 0.15% over the same period, contrasting with filament. This suggests a demand preference split: filament demand for apparel fabrics and home textiles remains relatively rigid, while the staple fiber market for fillings and nonwovens may face temporary oversupply pressure.
Cotton and nylon: supply-demand balance tilting
In sharp contrast to polyester's modest rally, cotton fell 1.32% WoW, leading the decliners. Cotton yarn 21S and 32S prices held steady, but their YoY gains of only 5.41% and 4.11% lagged far behind polyester, reflecting weak upward momentum in the cotton market. Raw silk prices even dropped 7.70% YoY, the only variety in negative YoY territory, due to stable supply from cocoon-producing regions and sluggish recovery in silk consumption.
Nylon POY plunged 1.43%, and nylon DTY slipped 0.37%. The weakness in the nylon chain stems from cost deflation as new caprolactam (CPL) capacity came online in China over the past two years, loosening raw material supply and undermining price support for nylon yarn. For garment companies sourcing nylon fabrics, this may present a favorable window for negotiation.
Spandex prices remained flat, yet its YoY gain of 21.77% stood out. This warrants attention: spandex prices are holding at high levels, indicating robust demand for stretch fabrics, but downstream mills have reached a tipping point in accepting high prices, leading to a stalemate between buyers and sellers.
Chain transmission: who benefits, who bears pressure?
From this weekly data set, three clear industrial threads emerge:
- Cost-driven varieties (polyester, PTA) follow crude oil higher, but downstream fabric mills face rising raw material cost pressure.
- Oversupplied varieties (nylon, raw silk) face price declines, benefiting downstream buyers but squeezing upstream producers' margins.
- Demand-differentiated varieties (cotton) show mixed moves: cotton prices fall but cotton yarn stabilizes, suggesting the spinning stage is absorbing raw material price declines.
For textile trading firms, the current price environment calls for differentiated quotation strategies: polyester products can justify moderate price hikes to cover costs, nylon products need flexibility to win orders, and cotton products should watch weather-related factors before new crop arrival.