PFY Market in the USA and Germany Witnesses Uptick in September Amid Expensive Chinese Imports

The Polyester Filament Yarn (PFY) market of the USA and Germany admitted an uptick during September amid expensive imports from the Chinese market and the improved demand from the downstream textile industry, while the Chinese market of PFY has grown immensely due to the supply curtailment in the region during this timeframe.

The PFY market in the USA admitted a decent uptick of +4.4% to settle at 1452 USD/MT 150D/48F CFR Texas during the fourth week of September amid the expensive imports from China influencing the market dynamics of the USA to showcase an uptrend. However, as per the export data, the destocking cycle in the USA is comparatively slower than in China. As a ripple effect, the import orders were unlikely to grow much compared with China's domestic market. Therefore, even after being completely dependent on the exports of Chinese cargoes, the US market of PFY improved less than the domestic market of China in the given timeframe.

Similarly, the German PFY market relies heavily on imported cargoes from China. Hence, the recent surge from the Chinese market has pushed up PFY prices, leading toward a +4.8% rise to settle at 1342 USD/MT PFY 150D/48F CFR Hamburg, Germany, during this timeframe. In addition, low inventory levels in the German market have led to a rush in new orders, even at higher prices, as buyers were willing to pay more to meet current demand. The steady increase in PTA feedstock prices has also pushed up the production costs of PFY in the global market. Moreover, the improved performance of PFY has led to increased acceptance of the product, driving consumption.

The Chinese PFY market, a hub of the textile industry, has established remarkable growth in terms of demand dynamics from the international and domestic markets during September. Therefore, the offered quotations have settled at 1132 USD/tonne PFY 150D/48F Spot Ex-Jiangsu, China, during the fourth week of September 2023. This growth is primarily attributed to the expansion of PYF in the downstream textile industry, which was further accelerated due to its cost-effectiveness within China. Moreover, a sharp rise in the prices of vital components, such as feedstock PTA, places pressure on the industry's cost structure. Moreover, a few upstream Paraxylene plants, including PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical, having a capacity of 750,000 mt/year, went under maintenance turnaround during this timeframe. As a ripple effect, the supply crunch in the availability of raw materials strengthened the production cost of PFY in China, which escalated the prices in China's domestic market.

As per ChemAnalyst, despite the economic challenges, the downstream textile industries in China would likely exhibit robust performance during October, underscoring the PFY industry further to show advancement in the USA and German markets, too.