A 2,000 yuan surge in a day! Middle East conflict "ignites" the chemical fiber sector, with many stocks expected to see high growth in performance

In early trading on April 7, the chemical fiber sector continued to rise strongly. Shenma Co., Sifangxiang, and Youfu Co. all strongly hit the daily price limit. Anhui Weigao, Juheshun, Jilin Chemical Fiber, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber, Ucai Resources, and other stocks also followed suit.

In the futures market, multiple main contracts—including ethylene glycol, plastic, polypropylene, propylene, methanol, and others—rose by more than 5%. In terms of oil prices, WTI crude rose more than 2.5% and broke above 115 USD; Brent crude rose nearly 1.5% to 111.38 USD per barrel.

On the news front, driven by the fighting in the Middle East, crude oil prices have continued to climb, which in turn has pushed up textile industry costs, and synthetic fiber prices have recently surged sharply.

Fighting in the Middle East has spread to the textile industry

According to CCTV Finance and Economics, China’s textile industry holds a leading position globally. As synthetic fibers—core raw materials for the textile industry—its price is directly linked to crude oil. Since the outbreak of conflicts involving the U.S. and Israel and Iran, as crude oil has risen and lifted up synthetic fiber prices, the overall polyester price has increased by more than 10% within the past month.

A person in charge of a chemical fiber company in Shengze Town, Suzhou, Jiangsu, said that currently the factory maintains full-capacity production, and the orders on hand are scheduled for up to 30 days. Because chemical fiber products cannot do without basic chemical feedstocks derived from petroleum refining, every round of crude oil price hikes is directly reflected in the company’s production operations.

It is reported that, from the overall market perspective, synthetic fibers have shown varying degrees of increase. For example, in March this year, one major product category of polyester—polyester filament—rose from about 7,180 yuan per ton to 9,300 yuan per ton. Polyamide has multiple varieties with weekly gains exceeding 6%, and some models saw a jump of 2,000 yuan per ton in a single day.

Beyond the impact of high oil prices, “Golden March and Silver April,” a traditional peak demand season for the chemical fiber industry, also leads downstream textile companies to concentrate purchases of chemical fiber raw materials to meet production needs for spring and summer apparel, home textiles, and other products, further boosting price elasticity in some chemical fiber varieties with relatively low inventory.

High oil prices may further strengthen the logic of cost increases

The Strait of Hormuz is the choke point for global oil supply. In 2025, the total volume of crude oil and petroleum products transported daily through the Strait of Hormuz is approximately 20 million barrels, accounting for 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade volume. Meanwhile, it also handles about 20% of global liquefied natural gas transport. According to IEA estimates, as of the end of March, the Strait of Hormuz being obstructed has caused a global daily crude oil supply shortfall of 10 million to 16 million barrels.

Western Securities said that within the chemical industry chain, the supply chain for products produced using crude oil or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as feedstock has already been clearly disrupted. Among them, the aromatics chain (naphtha → PX → PTA → polyester) remains relatively stable. PX (p-xylene) operating rates have declined due to naphtha cost pressures, but PTA operating rates and polyester filament operating rates remain relatively strong. This is because downstream of aromatics includes polyester, chemical fibers, coatings, and other segments, and downstream seasonal demand is more rigid.

An equity research report from Huian Securities pointed out that disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has intensified market concerns about an interruption of crude oil supply, driving broad price increases in basic chemical products such as naphtha and ethylene, as well as downstream plastics and chemical fibers. At the same time, China’s chemical industry expansion cycle is entering its final phase, and lagging capacity is clearing faster. Combined with the impact of high overseas energy costs causing production capacity to be continuously shut down, the industry’s supply-demand landscape has continued to improve, which constitutes the core support for the sector’s strength.

A recent report from Guoxin Petrochemical’s chemical team noted that as remaining tank capacity continues to decrease and refineries shut down, the planned reduction in production by Gulf countries is expected to keep expanding. As the duration of passive production cuts extends, the restart cycle will also lengthen from weeks to several months. According to Lunjong Consulting calculations, currently the global crude oil supply shortfall has reached roughly 5 million barrels per day. “We believe there is still risk of crude oil prices rising sharply in the short term, and the mid-term price center of gravity has clearly increased.”

Several concept stocks are expected to achieve high growth in performance

An industry sector view from Oriental Fortune shows that currently in the A-share market there are nearly 30 companies belonging to the chemical fiber sector, with a combined total market value of nearly 300 billion yuan. In terms of size, Fenghua Group, Zhongfu Shen Ying, and Xinfengming are in the top three.

Regarding market performance, from the beginning of the year to date, more than 30% of chemical fiber stocks have recorded share price increases. Zhongfu Shen Ying leads with a gain of 50%, while Xinxiang Chemical Fiber, Anhui Weigao, Sifangxiang, and others have all risen by more than 10%.

Oriental Fortune Choice data shows that, based on consistent forecasts by two or more institutions, there are 9 chemical fiber stocks whose earnings growth this year is expected to exceed 50%. Among them, institutions predict that Taihe New Materials’ net profit in 2026 may increase by more than 2 times; both Jilin Chemical Fiber and Zhongfu Shen Ying are expected to achieve earnings growth of double; Xinxiang Chemical Fiber, Juheshun, and Anhui Weigao all have predicted net profit growth of 75% or more.

（Source: Oriental Fortune Research Center）