The Polyester Filament Yarn (PFY) prices in June 2025 showed heightened volatility in China due to shifting feedstock costs and fluctuating demand, while the U.S. witnessed an initial spike followed by relative stabilization. Future pricing trends hinge on evolving input costs and the strength of post-season demand recovery in both markets.
In China, PFY prices fell sharply in the first half of June 2025 because of soft domestic demand, stable input costs, and heightened competition. Buyers had already locked up low-cost inventories in advance, resulting in slow procurement, while assertive pricing from new as well as old suppliers exacerbated the mood.
Mid-month, though, reversed the trend as crude oil price spikes triggered by heightened Israel-Iran tensions pushed PTA and MEG prices higher, leading PFY makers to hike offers. While downstream demand was still constrained, cost-driven optimism supported trade.
During the latter part of June, even though feedstock prices slightly retreated, most PFY producers were trading on high-cost stocks bought previously, and these helped support upward pricing pressure. Buyers speculated on further cost inflation and pushed purchases up, contributing to a bullish end to the month.
The U.S. PFY market opened June 2025 with sharp price increases driven by seasonal factors and policy concerns. Anticipating tariff changes and capitalizing on back-to-school demand, buyers accelerated imports and inventory building. This front-loaded demand tightened Asian supply, which dominates U.S. PFY imports. Despite stable Asian production costs, U.S. prices rose due to strong domestic demand.
But as June wore on, most downstream customers had already accumulated adequate inventories, so the procurement pace was more tempered. A steep 25.58% decline in ocean freight charges from Asia to the US West Coast eased PFY import cost but did not at once translate into new buying. Customers decided to wait and observe, deferring huge orders since they anticipated fresh price announcements in July. Conversely, suppliers did not reduce their prices any further as their margins were already thin resulting in stable, range bound PFY pricing.
In the future, PFY prices in China will be under downward pressure in the future if feedstock prices continue to soften and downstream demand fails to increase following the off-season. In the U.S., direction of prices will be contingent on whether lagging demand arrives in July or macroeconomic issues continue to keep restocking subdued. Market participants are no paying close attention to trends in input costs and buying attitudes to judge early Q3 pricing conditions.
