In the last week of August 2026, the textile raw material market drew a clear industrial watershed with a set of contrasting data: the three major polyester filament yarn varieties collectively strengthened, with POY rising 2.00% to 8,767.5 yuan/ton, DTY and FDY following with gains of 1.76% and 1.70% respectively. Meanwhile, upstream acrylonitrile plunged 4.46% in a single week, and PTA fell 3.67%. Within the same week, the directions of rises and falls were completely opposite, and the magnitudes both exceeded 1.5 percentage points, which is uncommon in recent months.
Event Background
The rise in polyester filament yarn is not an isolated event. From a year-on-year perspective, POY, DTY, and FDY are 24.25%, 21.66%, and 21.81% higher than the same period last year, indicating that current prices are in a high range over the past year. Meanwhile, nylon series also maintained a moderate upward trend, with nylon DTY rising 0.97% weekly and POY up 0.86%, with year-on-year gains of 16.9% and 21.37% respectively. Viscose staple fiber and viscose spun yarn also recorded positive returns, with increases of 0.42% and 0.69%.
In contrast, the decline in upstream raw materials is particularly glaring. Acrylonitrile fell from 11,966.67 yuan/ton to 11,433.33 yuan/ton within the week, a single-week drop of 4.46%, but still 44.12% higher year-on-year—indicating that the previous gains were excessive and the current correction is a high-level adjustment. PTA is similar, although it fell 3.67% weekly, it is still up 26.54% year-on-year. Polyester staple fiber fell slightly by 0.96%, contrasting with the strength of filament yarn.
Industrial Impact
This pattern of "strong filament, weak staple, and upstream raw material correction" reflects the redistribution of profits along the industrial chain. The rise in polyester filament yarn prices is driven by downstream weaving enterprises' restocking demand on the one hand, and on the other hand, it reflects polyester plants' proactive price increases after cost pressure eased. The decline in PTA prices directly reduced polyester production costs, allowing more profit margins for filament plants, while filament prices did not fall but rose instead, meaning that profits are shifting from the PTA segment to the polyester segment.
The sharp drop in acrylonitrile needs to be understood from both supply and demand sides. The previous high prices suppressed purchasing intentions of downstream acrylic fiber and ABS resin, while expectations of new capacity releases further intensified bearish sentiment. For acrylic fiber yarn enterprises relying on acrylonitrile, lower raw material costs should be a positive, but if terminal demand remains weak, cost dividends are difficult to convert into actual profits.
Raw silk prices rose 0.85% weekly to 427,500 yuan/ton, but still fell 9.16% year-on-year, indicating that the silkworm industry chain is still in a recovery channel. Cotton lint rose slightly by 0.06%, while cotton yarn 21S and 32S prices remained flat, suggesting a stalemate in the cotton spinning sector—upstream cotton cost support and downstream order insufficiency pull against each other. Spandex remained flat for consecutive weeks, with a year-on-year increase of 21.65%, reflecting stable demand for elastic fibers.