The rate of polymerization declined 6.3 per cent to 88 per cent in Q4 from 94.3 per cent in Q4. As per a CCF Group report, the rate declined by 6.7 per cent from intra-year high of 94.7 per cent. In August, polyester capacity increased by 5.2 per cent to 65.54 million tonne. The theoretical loss of polyester production amounted to about 7.14 million tonne of this, the proportion of PET bottle chip is highest followed by PSF.

Based on current polymerization rate, the theoretical operating rate of PTA plants stands at 76-77 per cent, while PTA industry rate is near 77.2 per cent. Considering limited cut-offs in polyester products sector, the prices of PTA may decline. But, they are still in destocking path, and may remain stable-to-strong as a whole.

Overall, polyester raw materials are not likely to go volatile, and prices are expected to fluctuate within 6200-6400yuan/mt. According to the recent market situation, it is expected the processing fees of polyester products will moderately improve in the future, and some of the turnaround plants will also resume.