Polyester DTY Price Shows Signs of Softening as Market Enters a Period of Price Discovery

In early July, a noteworthy signal emerged in China's domestic polyester filament market: the pricing system for melt-spun low-elasticity yarn (DTY) began to show clear divergence. On July 3, Kaishi Group lowered its offer for polyester DTY (150D/48F, AA grade) to 9,300 RMB/ton. This was not an isolated event. The previous day, July 2, the benchmark price tracked by Shengyishe for polyester DTY stood at 9,318.75 RMB/ton, while another producer, Juxing Chemical Fiber, quoted the same specification at just 9,000 RMB/ton. Within a few days, the price spread for identical products widened to 300 RMB/ton, an unusual development given the market's recent sideways trading pattern.

The Logic Behind the Price Easing

The core driver of this price adjustment is the dual squeeze from the cost side and the demand side. On the cost front, upstream PTA prices have recently been under pressure due to crude oil volatility and expectations of new PX capacity coming online, directly weakening the cost support for polyester filament. Although the melt-spinning process offers better cost control compared to chip spinning, any softening in upstream costs quickly translates to finished product pricing when industry inventories are high and new orders are insufficient. On the demand side, July falls within the traditional textile off-season. Downstream weaving mill operating rates have generally dropped to 60%-70%, significantly slowing their raw material procurement pace. Mills are mostly restocking for immediate needs, with little appetite for building inventory. This "buy the rumor, sell the fact" psychology has intensified wait-and-see sentiment just as prices begin to soften.

Also noteworthy is the transmission effect within the industrial cluster. Kaishi Group is based in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, and Juxing Chemical Fiber is also located in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, the primary production and consumption area for domestic polyester filament. The operating rates of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang weaving cluster directly determine raw material consumption. Currently, some circular knitting and water-jet weaving enterprises in the Xiaoshan-Shaoxing area have begun implementing summer production cuts, further suppressing DTY demand. Therefore, this price adjustment is not merely a single company's strategic move, but a collective stress response from the entire Jiangsu-Zhejiang chemical fiber industrial belt under off-season pressure. For buyers, this means room for negotiation is reopening.

Product Grade and the Quality Trade-off

Beneath the price divergence, understanding product specifications and grades is key to interpreting the real market dynamics. The DTY offered by Kaishi Group is specified as 150D/48F, melt-spun, AA grade, semi-dull, low-elasticity. This is a standard specification used for faux memory fabrics, oxford cloth, and some home textile fabrics, with high market liquidity and price sensitivity. Juxing's lower price of 9,000 RMB/ton for the same 150D/48F specification likely reflects discounts driven by differences in raw material batches, spinning process stability, or customer relationship maintenance strategies.

Industry convention dictates a normal price gap of 200-500 RMB/ton between AA-grade (premium) and A-grade products. However, the current 300 RMB spread exists between products both labeled AA-grade, indicating that competition has shifted from grade differentiation to outright order grabbing. For downstream weaving mills, as long as quality standards are met, choosing the lower-priced supplier is a rational decision. This forces even leading companies like Kaishi Group to follow suit with price cuts to avoid losing customers. It is expected that within the next one to two weeks, more small and medium-sized chemical fiber plants will join the price reduction, potentially pushing the DTY price center further downward.

Practical Recommendations

For Buyers - The current period is a window for renegotiating prices. For standard 150D/48F DTY, place orders in batches to leverage price differences among suppliers for discounts. - Pay attention to the 7-day offer validity period (e.g., Kaishi's offer is valid until July 10). Lock in some low-price supply within this window, while retaining flexibility to capture potentially lower prices later. - Avoid building excessive inventory despite falling prices. Demand recovery during the off-season is uncertain; aim to keep raw material turnover at 15-20 days.

For Exporters - Monitor the impact of RMB exchange rate fluctuations on export order pricing. Include price adjustment mechanisms in quotations to prevent profit erosion from domestic raw material price declines on signed contracts. - Use the current window of lower domestic prices to offer more competitive FOB quotes to clients in Southeast Asia and South Asia, aiming to lock in H2 orders ahead of time. - Track the price spread between melt-spun DTY and chip-spun DTY. If the cost advantage of melt-spun DTY widens, prioritize recommending this product to customers to reduce overall costs.