After weeks of price negotiation, the textile raw material market has finally shown a divergent pattern. Public industry data from June 26 reveals that PTA was the only product to rise, gaining 0.29%, while four varieties including acrylonitrile, polyester FDY, and cotton declined, pulling the sector's daily average down by 0.27%. This mixed performance reflects different supply-demand pressures across the supply chain.
Misalignment Between Cost and Demand
PTA's rise was not demand-driven but stemmed from tight PX supply. Concentrated maintenance at paraxylene plants and delayed imports have kept feedstock inventories low at PTA factories. However, this cost-push inflation failed to resonate downstream. Polyester FDY fell 1.62%, indicating that polyester mills chose to cut margins to destock amid weak weaving orders.
Acrylonitrile's 2.42% drop was more dramatic, linked to recent capacity releases. New domestic plants have ramped up production, but downstream ABS and acrylic fiber sectors have not kept pace, exacerbating oversupply. For acrylic and carbon fiber processors, this offers a temporary cost relief window.
Cotton's Pullback and Market Dynamics
Cotton fell 0.79% on the day, though still up 16.08% year-on-year. The short-term decline signals market expectations of a bumper 2026/27 global crop. Xinjiang cotton areas report favorable weather, and the USDA has raised its US output forecast. Supply pressure is building while textile mills have slowed purchasing—cotton yarn prices remain stable but actual transactions are limited to urgent small lots, with no stockpiling appetite.
The narrowing spread between cotton and yarn prices is squeezing mill margins. For cotton-focused exporters, if cotton prices continue to decline, overseas customers may demand price renegotiations.
Contrasting Fortunes in Man-Made Fibers
While PTA rose, polyester POY and DTY held steady, and staple fiber dipped 0.07%. This reveals a key fact: polyester chain profits are shifting from filament to upstream raw materials. FDY's decline was twice that of POY and DTY, reflecting fierce competition in fine-denier products as mills cut prices to defend market share.
Viscose staple fiber and spandex prices were flat, but their year-on-year gains of 9.06% and 21.09% respectively indicate solid destocking over the past year. Spandex's high YoY increase is noteworthy—driven by growing demand for athleisure fabrics, spandex supply inelasticity supports strong pricing.
Nylon series remained flat, suggesting a fragile equilibrium in the polyamide chain. Nylon DTY is up 6.59% YoY, but any fluctuation in caprolactam prices could disrupt this balance.