This week, the price of polyester bottle chips in China showed a trend of first rising then falling

December 05 news

This week (December 1 to 5), the price of polyester bottle chips showed a trend of first rising and then falling. According to price data, as of December 5, the average selling price of PET was 5,785 CNY per ton. Overall, the price was mainly influenced by the cost-side competition, while the weak supply and demand continued to limit the room for price rebound. Here is a detailed analysis:

The cost side is the core driver of price fluctuations. At the beginning of the week, supported by geopolitical premiums and the phased destocking of upstream PTA, raw material prices rose, pushing bottle flake prices upward. However, as the week progressed, due to unfulfilled expectations regarding U.S. oil blending strategies and the seasonal buildup of international crude oil inventories, cost support weakened significantly, causing bottle flake prices to decline accordingly.

Supply-side easing pressure is evident, with the weekly operating rate of bottle chips in China at 72.9%, a 2% increase from the previous week. Additionally, there are plans to restart some facilities in late December, further increasing the pressure from new capacity. The number of days of inventory available in factories has increased by 0.43 days to 16.49 days.

Demand is currently in the traditional off-season, with soft drink production in China down 5.7% year-on-year from January to October. Downstream purchasing intentions are low, with many being cautious and waiting, leading to a sluggish market and difficulty in providing effective price support.

It is expected that the price of polyester bottle chips will weakly consolidate in the range of 5700-5850 CNY/ton next week. The cost side is likely to remain volatile, and the loose supply and demand situation is unlikely to change. There is no hope for a short-term increase in demand, and the market may continue to maintain a cautious and wait-and-see attitude.