The price of Nylon FDY is undergoing a 'gentle game'. The industry's open quotation on July 27, 2026, settled at 16,500 RMB/ton, up 1.23% from the beginning of the month. This figure, seemingly flat, reveals a search for a new balance across the supply chain when placed in the price coordinates of the past year.
Price Coordinates: Mid-Range Oscillation, Clear Bottom Support
Complete annual statistics from July 27, 2025, to July 27, 2026, show that Nylon FDY traded in a range of 14,175 to 19,950 RMB/ton. The current price of 16,500 RMB/ton sits just below the median of 17,062.5 RMB/ton, with a top-end gap of 3,450 RMB/ton and a bottom-end gap of only 2,325 RMB/ton. This suggests a relatively solid floor below, but significant resistance above.
Notably, the annual average price over the past year was 15,675 RMB/ton, meaning the current price is about 5.3% above that average. This implies the market has emerged from the low-price zone of the second half of 2025, but has not entered a strong upward channel. The zero daily change on July 27 further confirms a short-term stalemate.
Cost Pass-Through: The 'Ceiling' Effect of Caprolactam
The upstream raw material for Nylon FDY is caprolactam, which accounts for roughly 70% of production costs. Public industry data shows that since Q2 2026, caprolactam prices have risen periodically due to volatility in the pure benzene market, but this increase has not fully passed through to Nylon FDY. The reason lies in conservative procurement strategies downstream; weaving mills generally maintain low inventory levels of 15-20 days, reluctant to build large stocks at elevated prices.
This dynamic of 'raw material up, finished product hard to rise' directly compresses profit margins for Nylon FDY producers. For factories in industrial clusters like Shengze and Changle, the current price of 16,500 RMB/ton places theoretical profits near the breakeven line, with some small and medium-sized enterprises facing pressure to take orders at a loss.
Demand Side: The 'Volume and Price' Double Test from End-Use Apparel
Looking at end markets, Nylon FDY's main applications include sportswear, down jacket fabrics, and luggage fabrics. Since summer 2026, the domestic apparel consumption market has shown a character of 'stable volume, falling prices', making brands significantly more price-sensitive in their upstream fabric procurement. On the foreign trade front, the recovery of textile capacity in Southeast Asia has intensified competition for domestic nylon grey fabric exports, further narrowing the bargaining space for overseas orders.
Data from Keqiao Textile City shows that in July 2026, the transaction volume of nylon fabric grey goods fell by about 3% month-on-month, but the average transaction price remained largely unchanged. This indicates that downstream weaving mills are digesting raw material costs by adjusting their product mix—reducing purchases of standard Nylon FDY and shifting towards differentiated, higher-value products such as matte, micro-denier, and antibacterial functional nylon.
Future Outlook: Three Key Variables in a Narrow Range
Overall, Nylon FDY prices are likely to oscillate within a 16,000-17,000 RMB/ton range in the near term. Breaking above or below this range would require significant changes in three key variables:
- Pure benzene price trend: A sharp swing in international oil prices impacting pure benzene would directly affect caprolactam costs and then Nylon FDY.
- Downstream operating rate changes: Current average weaving mill operating rates are around 65%. If orders pick up in the traditional September peak season, pushing rates above 75%, it would drive a phase of volume demand for Nylon FDY.
- Industry inventory cycle: Current social inventory of Nylon FDY is at a moderate level. If producers actively destock, upside price potential is limited; conversely, if passive destocking occurs due to production cuts, prices may find support.