On August 28, 2026, a notable detail emerged from the price monitoring of bulk textile commodities: raw silk jumped 2.67% in a single day, while PTA and cotton rose only 0.59% and 0.51% respectively. This disparity is not accidental; it reflects a shift from broad-based gains to divergence in the textile raw material market, as the tug-of-war between upstream cost pressures and downstream weak demand reshapes pricing logic across varieties.
Background
Monitoring data showed that only three commodities in the textile sector rose on that day, while the other 14 remained flat, with an average daily change of 0.22%. Raw silk led with a price of 427,500 yuan per ton, but still down 9.16% year-on-year, indicating its absolute price remains below the same period last year. PTA stood at 6,213.25 yuan per ton, up 26.54% year-on-year; cotton was 18,263.83 yuan per ton, up 19.12%. Acrylonitrile, polyester staple fiber, viscose staple fiber, and spandex all held flat that day but recorded year-on-year increases of 44.12%, 17.93%, 10.43%, and 21.65%, respectively.
This pattern of narrow daily fluctuations but significant annual gains implies that the overall cost center of raw materials has risen over the past year, but recent momentum has clearly weakened. Taking polyester filament as an example, POY, DTY, and FDY all rose more than 21% year-on-year, yet on August 28 their prices were unchanged from the previous day, indicating that the upward trend has entered a plateau.
Industry Impact
The unusual movement in raw silk deserves deeper analysis. As the core raw material for the silk industry chain, raw silk prices directly affect the procurement costs of downstream satin and home textile companies. A daily increase of 2.67% is uncommon in bulk textile commodities, possibly driven by short-term supply tightness or speculative capital, but the year-on-year decline of 9.16% suggests that the long-term trend is not optimistic. For buyers, such pulse-like increases should not be chased; more attention should be paid to supply expectations during the cocoon purchasing season.
The collective flatness of the chemical fiber chain reflects another logic. PTA, polyester, and nylon have already seen considerable year-on-year gains, but recent crude oil price fluctuations and insufficient downstream weaving operating rates have left price increases without demand support. Acrylonitrile, up 44.12% year-on-year, is the largest increase among monitored varieties, directly raising the production costs of acrylic fiber and compressing the profit margins of acrylic yarn enterprises. For factories relying on imported acrylonitrile, exchange rate and shipping cost changes will amplify price risks.
From a chain transmission perspective, the divergence in raw material prices is intensifying downstream wait-and-see sentiment. Cotton yarn 21S and 32S rose only 5.89% and 5.63% year-on-year, far below cotton's 19.12%, indicating limited price pass-through in the spinning segment and significantly squeezed profits for yarn mills. If this persists, it may force some mills to reduce operating rates, further affecting demand for cotton and chemical fibers.