In January 2026, the price of PET 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 6,326 RMB/ton. According to the price data from SunSirs, the mainstream average spot price in East China is 3,275 RMB/ton.

price trend

January 1-9: initially suppressed and then rose, with a slight decline; The spot price in East China is 5,980-6,130 RMB/ton, and the futures price is approximately 5,950-6,060 RMB/ton.

January 10-16: First up, then down; East China spot 6,000-6,100 RMB/ton, futures fell back to 5,968 RMB/ton within the week.

January 17-23: Strong rally; Spot prices in East China range from 6,340 to 6,400 RMB/ton, with main futures closing at 6,448 RMB/ton (up 8.0% on the week).

January 24-29: Rise and fall; The futures main link fell from 6,448 to 6,326 RMB/ton, while spot prices remained stable at 6,300-6,380 RMB/ton.

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 5,592 RMB/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.

SunSirs 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 6,200-6,400 RMB/ton, with cost and supply remaining the main support, and the off-season demand limiting the increase.

If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.