Cost-side positives support a slight rise in polyester staple fiber prices

April 28th News

Commodity market analysis system, since mid-April, the Chinese polyester staple fiber market has shown a slight upward trend. As of April 28, the average market price for Chinese polyester staple fiber (1.4D*38mm) was 8,263 CNY/ton, an increase of 2.36% from April 14.

Affected by the heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, international crude oil prices have remained stable. The rise in crude oil prices has provided a boost to price formation. On April 27, the settlement price for the June contract of U.S. WTI crude oil futures was reported at $96.37 per barrel, while the settlement price for the June contract of Brent crude oil futures was reported at $108.23 per barrel.

Since mid-April, the PTA market in China has been on an upward trend. As of April 28, the average spot price of PTA in the East China region was 6,807 CNY/ton, an increase of 7.43% compared to April 13. The scale of PTA maintenance has significantly expanded, with plant maintenance being gradually implemented, and the operating rate has rapidly dropped to around 65%, setting a new low for the same period in history. With the increase in maintenance plans, the turning point for PTA inventory has appeared, and it has started to enter a destocking phase. Additionally, recent U.S. sanctions against the largest PTA producer in China, a company in Dalian, may lead to a further decrease in PTA production.

Downstream yarn enterprises continue to maintain rigid demand-driven procurement, and the market’s trading atmosphere remains predominantly cautious. In April and May—the traditional off-season for textiles—orders from apparel and home textile end-users are insufficient, and weaving mills’ operating rates have remained steady at around 60%–65%. Although pre-holiday stocking in the terminal market shows reasonably strong buying interest, overall market sentiment remains heavily characterized by wait-and-see attitudes.

Analysts believe that the cost side will remain strong in the near term, and the tightening supply and demand of PTA will provide favorable support for short fiber prices. Additionally, from the perspective of spot trading, the 10-day moving average is above the 20-day moving average, with the difference continuing to expand positively. The further divergence between the 10-day and 20-day moving averages indicates that the polyester staple fiber market is accelerating its upward trend.

However, from a positional standpoint, the overall situation remains relatively high. Going forward, it will still be necessary to closely monitor geopolitical developments and changes in downstream demand.