Market Review of Polyester-Cotton Yarn This Week

The weekly average price of polyester staple fiber, the raw material for polyester-cotton yarn, rose this week, providing certain cost support for polyester-cotton yarn prices.

Coupled with the arrival of the regular downstream restocking cycle ahead of the Qingming Festival, some polyester-cotton yarn manufacturers took the initiative to offer discounts to promote shipments and boost transactions, leading to a slight decline in actual negotiated prices in the market.

Driven by a moderate correction in yarn prices, downstream end-users mainly followed up on rigid demand and replenished inventories with small orders as needed, resulting in a phasic reduction of yarn mills’ inventories.

Risks of raw material price fluctuations remain, and the market is expected to run stable but slightly weak in the coming period.

Currently, market sentiment remains bullish on crude oil prices amid concerns over escalating geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East. In addition, continued production cuts by Asian petrochemical companies have further supported polyester staple fiber prices, which are expected to stay high and volatile.

Downstream circular knitting machine operating rates are expected to drop below 50% during the Qingming holiday, with a possible rebound after the short-term decline.

Yarn mill operating rates fell to around 65% this week. Most orders have been scheduled for production through late April due to downstream pre-holiday restocking.