In the last week of June, the textile bulk commodity market experienced a clear price divergence. According to publicly available industry monitoring data, of the 17 monitored varieties in the textile sector during the 25th week of 2026 (June 22-26), 13 posted week-on-week declines, with the overall weekly average falling by 1.65%. The chemical fiber raw material segment was hit particularly hard: acrylonitrile plunged 6.92%, PTA fell over 5%, and all polyester filament yarn grades declined between 1.6% and 2.6%. In contrast, cotton yarn 21S and 32S rose 0.14% and 0.10% respectively, modest gains that stood out against the broader downturn.
This decline is not an isolated event but the result of weakening upstream costs combined with tepid downstream demand. Acrylonitrile and PTA, key intermediates in the chemical fiber chain, saw sharp price drops that directly undermined cost support for downstream products like polyester and acrylic. Notably, acrylonitrile still holds a 25% year-on-year gain, suggesting the current fall is more of a high-level correction than a trend reversal. PTA also retains a 12.8% year-on-year increase, meaning the current decline has not yet fully erased prior gains.
Chemical fiber under pressure, polyester filament all down
Polyester products were broadly weak this week. Polyester POY, DTY, and FDY fell 2.36%, 2.60%, and 1.62% respectively, with DTY recording the largest drop. Polyester staple fiber fell 0.91%, and polyester yarn fell 1.79%. The main driver is the sharp decline in PTA prices, which dropped 5.10% from 6,041 yuan/ton to 5,734 yuan/ton, directly weakening the cost anchor for polyester products. For weaving mills, rapidly falling raw material prices increase the risk of inventory devaluation, leading to more conservative purchasing, which further suppresses transaction volumes and prices.
Acrylonitrile's decline was even more dramatic, falling from 10,833 yuan/ton to 10,083 yuan/ton, a weekly drop of nearly 7%. Acrylonitrile is mainly used to produce acrylic fiber and ABS resin. Its price volatility is often linked to upstream propylene cost changes and downstream demand rhythms. Currently in the traditional off-season, acrylic fiber end-use demand is weak, and mills are reluctant to stock up, leaving the market without sufficient buying support.
Cotton yarn bucks the trend, end-order support emerges
Against the overall decline, cotton yarn 21S and 32S rose 0.14% and 0.10% respectively. Though small, the direction is opposite to chemical fiber varieties. Year-on-year, cotton yarn 21S is up 7.50% and 32S up 6.57%, indicating a sustained upward shift in the cotton yarn price center over the past year. This is closely tied to cotton prices—though raw cotton fell 1.23% this week, its year-on-year gain remains 16.08%. Cotton yarn prices are held high by raw material costs, while just-in-time orders from downstream apparel and home textile sectors provide some support.
Notably, the divergence between cotton yarn and chemical fiber reflects differing end-market conditions. Cotton yarn serves apparel and home textiles, currently in a transition between summer order wrap-up and autumn/winter order initiation, with some mills needing to replenish stocks. Chemical fiber products are more tied to industrial textiles, luggage, and footwear, which are sensitive to export order fluctuations. Current global consumer uncertainty is making downstream buyers cautious.
Nylon and viscose flat, spandex gains slow
Nylon series products also slipped modestly this week: nylon DTY, POY, and FDY fell 0.88%, 1.09%, and 1.21% respectively, relatively mild declines. Viscose staple fiber and rayon yarn prices were unchanged. Spandex fell 0.56%, a small drop, but given spandex's 21.09% year-on-year gain, this pullback may signal a slowing of the previous rally. Spandex prices had been driven up by sportswear demand, but as summer arrives, sportswear orders have eased, putting pressure on spandex.