Polyester Staple Fiber Price Drops Significantly, Chemical Fiber Industry Faces Deep Adjustment

On July 7, 2026, the benchmark price of polyester staple fiber settled at 7,263.57 yuan per ton, down 2.09% from the beginning of the month. This decline is not an isolated event but a microcosm of the continuous downward shift in the price center over the past year. According to industry public data, the highest price in the past year reached 8,426 yuan per ton, while the lowest was 6,267 yuan per ton. The current price is near the median line, but the gap from the year's high has exceeded 1,160 yuan per ton.

Industrial Logic Behind Price Volatility The direct driver of the polyester staple fiber price decline is the loosening of upstream raw material costs. PTA and ethylene glycol, as the main raw materials, have experienced a process from high-level retreat to low-level oscillation in the past three months. Weakness in raw material prices has directly compressed the cost support for polyester staple fiber, leaving producers without pricing initiative. The deeper issue lies in the persistent weakness of downstream demand. The textile industry climate index shows that since the second quarter of 2026, the operating rate of weaving enterprises has declined by about 5 percentage points year-on-year, and the turnover days of grey fabric inventory have extended to over 25 days, indicating that terminal orders have not recovered as expected.

Chain Reactions in Regional Industrial Clusters Industrial clusters such as Shaoxing and Shengze felt the chill first. Some local small and medium-sized staple fiber producers have begun to implement production cuts to cope with the dual pressure of inventory accumulation and profit narrowing. Industry observers point out that the processing profit of polyester staple fiber has shrunk from about 300 yuan per ton at the beginning of the year to less than 100 yuan per ton, and some enterprises with weak cost control have even suffered losses. This compression of profit margins is forcing capacity clearance within the industrial clusters, with some old equipment and backward capacity facing the risk of elimination.

Market Signals from the Annual Price Range From the perspective of annual statistics, polyester staple fiber prices experienced violent fluctuations over the past year. The lowest point of 6,267 yuan per ton appeared at the end of 2025, when the market fell into panic selling due to weak supply and demand. Subsequently, in the first quarter of 2026, driven by spring stocking expectations, prices rebounded rapidly to a high of 8,426 yuan per ton. However, the good times did not last. Since the second quarter, prices have turned downward again. Although the current level of 7,263 yuan per ton has not hit a historical low, it has fallen below the annual average of 6,972 yuan per ton, indicating that the market is in a pattern of oversupply.

It is worth noting that there is still a gap of about 1,000 yuan per ton between the current price and the annual low, leaving room for further price declines. If textile and apparel export data does not show significant improvement in the next two months, polyester staple fiber prices may test the support level of 6,500 yuan per ton again.

Warning Signals from Industrial Chain Transmission As an intermediate raw material, price fluctuations in polyester staple fiber have a clear transmission effect on downstream yarn and fabric links. The current price decline has not yet fully transmitted to the yarn end, because spinning enterprises are still digesting high-priced inventories from the previous period. However, industry public data shows that quotations for pure polyester yarn have shown signs of loosening, with weekly declines of some varieties reaching 1.5%. This lagging transmission means that within the next month, fabric buyers may usher in a window of cost reduction.

Practical Suggestions ### For Buyers - Current polyester staple fiber prices are in a medium-to-low position, but downside risk has not yet been fully released. It is recommended to adopt a batch procurement strategy to avoid large-scale stockpiling at once. - Focus on weekly price changes of raw material PTA. If PTA breaks previous lows, polyester staple fiber prices may accelerate downward. - For long-term orders, consider signing price floating clauses with suppliers to lock in some profit margins.

For Foreign Trade Enterprises - Export quotations should fully consider the risk of raw material price fluctuations. It is recommended to adopt a short-term pricing mechanism to avoid order losses due to rapid raw material price declines. - Monitor demand changes in the Southeast Asian market. Some countries are increasing purchases of Chinese polyester staple fiber, which may become a new export growth point. - Leverage the current low price advantage to actively expand into the Middle East and African markets, where demand for mid-to-low-end chemical fiber products is relatively stable.