From February to March, the increase in the market industry chain from top to bottom gradually narrowed, and the increase in PTA was greater than that of polyester staple fiber, resulting in the spot price difference between dope dyed color polyester staple fiber (PF) and PTA at a historically low level for the same period. In February, the monthly average price of PTA increased by 6%, and the monthly average price of polyester staple fiber increased by 5%. In March (as of March 11), the monthly average price of PTA increased by 11%, and the monthly average price of polyester staple fiber increased by 5%. There are three main reasons why the increase of PTA is greater than that of polyester staple fiber:
First of all, the PTA processing fee fell to a historical low in February and March, and even the PTA daily processing fee even appeared negative for the first time in March. The cost pressure caused by the surge in crude oil will be transmitted to the PTA price relatively quickly. At the same time, from February to March, the downstream polyester start-up load of PTA rebounded rapidly, from 80% in early February to 89% in early March, which indirectly supported the price of PTA.
Secondly, the overall demand for dope dyed color polyester staple fiber is not good, and the terminal buying sentiment rebounds slowly after the holiday, which inhibits the price increase of dope dyed color polyester staple fiber. As of March 11, the average daily production and sales of polyester staple fiber from February to March was only about 51%. Buyers were not confident enough to follow up, and there was no sign of a clear rebound in market buying.
Third, the price of MEG, another raw material of dope dyed color polyester staple fiber, rose relatively slowly from February to March, and the cost support for polyester staple fiber was insufficient. The supply of MEG is sufficient, especially in the stage of MEG accumulation in February. Although the increase in crude oil has strengthened the cost support of MEG, MEG has not followed the increase in crude oil in time, which indirectly affects the increase of dope dyed color polyester staple fiber.
