In January 2026, the price of polyester bottle chips showed a weak trend followed by a strong trend, and then rose and fell back in the latter half of the year. Futures and spot prices fluctuated synchronously, and the demand side had strong demand to support the bottom, but the off-season suppressed the increase. As of January 29th, the main futures market closed at 6326 yuan/ton. According to the price data from Shengyi Society, the mainstream average spot price in East China is 3275 yuan/ton.
price trend
January 1-9: initially suppressed and then rose, with a slight decline; The spot price in East China is 5980-6130, and the futures price is approximately 5950-6060.
January 10-16: First up, then down; East China spot 6000-6100, futures fell back to 5968 within the week.
January 17-23: Strong rally; Spot prices in East China range from 6340 to 6400, with main futures closing at 6448 (up 8.0% on the week).
January 24-29: Rise and fall; The futures main link fell from 6448 to 6326, while spot prices remained stable at 6300-6380.
Core driver analysis
On the supply side, centralized maintenance of the equipment (such as Jiangyin’s 1.2 million ton shutdown from mid January to March) resulted in a capacity utilization rate of 70.24% in late January, a month on month decline in production, and low inventory and low operating costs supporting prices.
Cost side: Fluctuations in crude oil and PTA are transmitted, with a polymerization cost of approximately 5592 yuan/ton, providing significant cost support.
On the demand side: restocking is completed before the Spring Festival, while downstream beverage and oil factories have a bottom line for essential needs, resulting in low operating rates and limited willingness to chase price increases.
Future prospects
Business Society expects that demand recovery after the holiday will not be as expected; The device maintenance has been completed ahead of schedule; Crude oil and PTA prices have rebounded; Regenerated PET replaces reinforcement. Short term prices may fluctuate within the range of 6200-6400 yuan/ton, with cost and supply remaining the main support, and the off-season demand limiting the increase.