This week (March 10-14, 2025), the upstream raw material caprolactam market prices fell under pressure, the nylon PA6 chip market continued to decline, cost support weakened, downstream demand did not improve, the market made on-demand purchases, and on-site actual transactions were limited. Many operators held a cautious and wait-and-see attitude, and the nylon fiber market prices continued to decline.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the monthly average price of nylon filament decreased narrowly this week (March 10-14, 2025). As of March 14, 2025, the price of nylon filament DTY (premium product; 70D/24F) in Jiangsu region is 16400 yuan/ton, a decrease of 180 yuan/ton from last week’s price, with a weekly increase of 1.09%; Nylon POY (premium product; 86D/24F) is priced at 14025 yuan/ton, a decrease of 150 yuan/ton from last week, with a weekly increase of 1.06%; The price of nylon FDY (premium product: 40D/12F) is reported at 17025 yuan/ton, a decrease of 175 yuan/ton from last week, with a weekly increase of 1.02%.

Raw material caprolactam continues to decline

In terms of cost: Since late February, the market price of caprolactam has entered a downward trend, and the performance of terminal demand has been lower than expected, which has led to a sharp increase in the pressure on polymerization factories to ship. The demand side’s follow-up sentiment towards caprolactam has rapidly cooled down. The market for nylon PA6 chips continues to decline, with weakened cost support. As of March 14, 2025, the benchmark price of caprolactam in Shengyi Society was 10623 yuan/ton, with a weekly decline of 1.61%.

Supply and demand: This week (March 10-14, 2025), downstream market purchasing willingness is not strong, demand has not improved, and the main consumption of raw material inventory is high. There is a strong atmosphere of wait-and-see in the market, with limited actual transactions and insufficient support from the demand side.

Future forecast

Cost wise: The market for caprolactam is bearish, and the production capacity of caprolactam in the market will be released, resulting in an increase in supply. The demand side will maintain on-demand procurement, and the short-term caprolactam market price will be mainly weak.

Supply and demand side: Most nylon filament manufacturers have resumed normal production, and the on-site supply will increase significantly. At the same time, the overall inventory level in the market may increase; Downstream enterprises have a certain amount of raw material inventory, and coupled with insufficient confidence in the future market, the demand for replenishment is limited.

Overall, the spot market for raw material caprolactam and nylon PA6 chips are mainly operating weakly, with poor cost support and continued weak demand. There is a strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the market, and analysts from Shengyi Society predict that the price of nylon filament may continue its weak downward trend.

Recently, the market price of hydrofluoric acid has remained stable, and the mainstream price of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in the East China market is currently 11500-11600 yuan/ton. According to the analysis system of Shengyi Society, as of March 12th, the benchmark price of hydrofluoric acid in Shengyi Society was 12016.67 yuan/ton, an increase of 0.70% compared to the beginning of this month (11933.33 yuan/ton).

Raw material side: The price trend of raw material fluorite has risen this week. The current situation of the game in the domestic fluorite industry still exists. Overall, the operating rate of enterprises has not changed much. Upstream mining is tight, backward mines will continue to be eliminated, and new mines will be added. Mineral investigation work is still difficult. In addition, national departments need to rectify fluorite mines, and fluorite mining enterprises are facing increasingly strict safety and environmental protection requirements. Although the rectification action is coming to an end, the affected area has not narrowed. The difficulty of operating fluorite mines has increased, and the shortage of raw materials has limited the operation of fluorite enterprises. The supply of fluorite is tight, and the market situation is rising, which strongly supports the cost of hydrofluoric acid. According to the analysis system of Shengyi Society, as of March 11th, the benchmark price of Shengyi Society’s fluorite was 3731.25 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.95% compared to the beginning of this month (3660.00 yuan/ton).

Recently, the price trend of raw material sulfuric acid in the market has risen, providing favorable support for the hydrofluoric acid market. According to the analysis system of Shengyi Society, as of March 11th, the benchmark price of sulfuric acid in Shengyi Society was 547.50 yuan/ton, an increase of 16.49% compared to the beginning of this month (470.00 yuan/ton).

On the demand side: The downstream refrigerant market is rising, coupled with policy encouragement in the refrigerant industry, demand is expected to achieve substantial improvement. Fluorine chemical enterprises within quota control have strong confidence in raising prices in the refrigerant market. The prices in the foreign trade market have increased, and upstream products are mainly purchased on demand, which supports the hydrofluoric acid market.

Market forecast: The recent rise in raw material prices has driven the hydrofluoric acid market to a stronger trend. It is expected that the hydrofluoric acid market will continue to operate steadily and strongly in the future, and more attention should be paid to the news of leading enterprises and market supply and demand.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, formic acid has seen a significant increase in recent times. As of March 11th, 85% of industrial formic acid in China is priced at 3175 yuan/ton, up 4.1% from 3050 yuan/ton at the beginning of March and down 3.05% from 3275 yuan/ton in the same period last year, reaching its highest level in 2025.

Positive news one: Rising raw material prices

Raw material methanol is experiencing a strong upward trend. Some units in the main methanol production area have maintenance plans, which are expected to reduce supply and significantly increase prices.

The trend of raw material sulfuric acid is upward. The price of sulfuric acid raw materials has risen, and the strong cost has driven the sulfuric acid market, resulting in a preference for sulfuric acid demand. At present, the inventory of acid enterprises is generally running without pressure, and the price trend is upward.

Benefit 2: Major factories are temporarily not shipping, resulting in a decrease in on-site supply

At present, the production of Asde formic acid is suspended, and the supply resources on site are tight, resulting in a continued strong market trend for formic acid.

Positive news three: The downstream pesticide market demand is improving

The seasonal demand for pesticides in the market is improving, and some products are in a tight supply situation. Most manufacturers have low power consumption, resulting in low overall market inventory and relatively firm prices.

The data analyst of Shengyi Society believes that under the favorable factors of multiple parties, the price of formic acid has risen significantly, and it is expected that there will still be upward momentum in the later period. The price of formic acid is running relatively strong.

price trend

According to the bulk ranking data from Shengyi Society, the domestic PC market in early March continued the previous weak trend, with most spot prices of various brands operating at low levels. As of March 10th, the mixed benchmark price of Business Society PC is around 16000 yuan/ton, with a price fluctuation of -0.41% compared to early March.

cause analysis

On the supply side: In March, the load of domestic PC aggregation enterprises increased at a high level, and the current industry average operating rate remained unchanged from 86% at the beginning of March. The weekly average production is close to a super high level of 70000 tons, and the on-site supply is very abundant. Some manufacturers have lowered their factory prices at low levels. The mid stream inventory position is relatively high, and the on-site pricing continues to be sluggish. The market supply side has poor support for PC prices.

In terms of raw materials: From the above chart, it can be seen that the long positions of bisphenol A have gradually exhausted in the early stage, while since March, both upstream acetone and phenol have fallen, which has dampened the confidence of industry players in cost value. At the same time, the demand for bisphenol A is generally low, and the downward pressure on prices is increasing. Overall, the support of raw materials for PC costs is relatively weak.

On the demand side: The PC consumption pattern has been weak for a long time, and the overall market in early March continued to maintain a light pre holiday level. As of March 10th, the load increase of downstream factories has not been significant, resulting in poor stocking efforts of end enterprises and a focus on weak demand in procurement logic. And there is still a certain amount of inventory to be digested, and the supply-demand contradiction pattern continues to be profound. The wait-and-see attitude of businesses is biased, and buyers are resistant to high priced goods, increasing the pressure for businesses to sell. The circulation of goods in the market is slow, and the overall trading situation continues to be light. The demand side has poor support for PC spot prices.

Future forecast

The domestic PC market fell at a low level in early March. The upstream bisphenol A market still has weak expectations after the current decline, which weakens the support for PC cost side. The load of domestic PC aggregation plants is fluctuating at a high level, and the supply is loose. Industry inventory is high, and supply pressure is increasing instead of decreasing. The current downstream demand follow-up is still slow, the new order situation is not good, and the supply-demand contradiction is deepening. It is expected that PC will continue to operate weakly in the short term.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of March 7th, the average sales price of PET was 6162 yuan/ton, which was dragged down by the raw material price. This week, the price showed a weak downward trend.

In terms of cost, the international crude oil market was affected by geopolitical easing, OPEC+production expectations, and the accumulation of US refined oil inventories. The weekly average price of Brent crude oil fell 2.15% month on month to $73.87 per barrel, weakening the cost support of the polyester industry chain. The PTA processing fee is at a low level (300-350 yuan/ton), and the improvement of the supply and demand structure of ethylene glycol is limited. The price focus of both has shifted downwards, further dragging down the cost of polyester bottle chips.

On the supply side: The polyester bottle chip industry is at the end of its capacity expansion cycle, with plans to add 2.15 million tons of new production capacity by 2025. Coupled with the current high inventory level during the same period, market concerns about oversupply have intensified. Despite weak demand, the operating rates of major production enterprises remain high, leading to a continuous increase in supply and exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance.

In terms of demand, downstream enterprises have limited demand for replenishing inventory after the holiday, and traders and end users are mostly adopting a wait-and-see attitude. The market lacks momentum in chasing price increases, and actual transactions are light. The weak recovery of terminal demand in the polyester industry chain and the accumulation of inventory of polyester filament and other products indirectly affect the confidence of the bottle chip market.

In response to the current market situation, Shengyi Society believes that the lack of upward driving force in crude oil and raw material prices, coupled with the release of new production capacity and inventory pressure, is difficult to alleviate. In the short term, the price of polyester bottle chips may continue to fluctuate weakly. The actual trend still needs to pay attention to the subsequent equipment and demand situation, as well as the cost support under the traction of crude oil.