The nylon POY price has formed a typical 'mid-range sideways' pattern over the past year: peaking at 16,950 CNY/ton, bottoming at 11,300 CNY/ton, and currently hovering at 14,000 CNY/ton, close to the midpoint of 14,125 CNY/ton, with an annual average of 12,921.58 CNY/ton. This price pattern is not accidental; it signals a fragile balance between upstream cost pressure and downstream demand weakness.
Annual Price Range: A 5,650 CNY Gap with Over 30% Amplitude
From August 2025 to August 2026, the price range for nylon POY reached 5,650 CNY/ton, representing an amplitude of 50% from the lowest point. More notably, the price repeatedly reverted to the midpoint, indicating a lack of unilateral drivers. The peak of 16,950 CNY and trough of 11,300 CNY correspond to episodic upstream supply tightness and seasonal demand softness, respectively. The current price sits 2,950 CNY below the peak and 2,700 CNY above the trough, suggesting balanced bullish and bearish forces.
This 'ceiling and floor' pattern offers buyers a relatively stable cost outlook, but also warrants vigilance against sudden range breakouts. For factories, the annual average is about 1,078 CNY lower than the current price, meaning that locking in raw materials now would be slightly above the yearly average, potentially squeezing margins.
Industry Transmission: A Tug-of-War Between Feedstock and Demand
As an intermediate product in the chemical fiber chain, nylon POY prices are directly influenced by upstream caprolactam costs and downstream purchasing rhythms from weaving and garment enterprises. The repeated touches of the range boundaries and quick reversals reflect upstream attempts to pass on costs through price support, while downstream mills remain cautious due to lackluster terminal orders.
Particularly noteworthy is the current price stability—flat compared to the beginning of the month with zero daily change. This 'static' state often indicates the market is awaiting directional cues, either from a new round of feedstock price adjustments or from a substantive recovery in peak-season demand. For textile companies, this sideways phase is both an opportunity to adjust inventory structures and a window to renegotiate long-term contract terms.
Regional and Category Perspectives: Collective Wait-and-See in Nylon Industrial Clusters
Major nylon POY production capacity is concentrated in industrial belts such as Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, where factory operating rates are highly correlated with price movements. During this mid-range stagnation, producers in these regions have generally adopted a 'produce-to-order' strategy to avoid inventory buildup. Meanwhile, downstream weaving clusters in Xiaoshan and Shengze report that while raw material prices are acceptable, the transmission to finished product prices is sluggish, squeezing margins on both ends.
This upstream-downstream standoff is essentially a vote on future demand expectations. If downstream textile and apparel export data improve in the second half of the year, nylon POY prices may break above the midpoint; conversely, if demand remains weak, prices could test support near 12,000 CNY/ton.