China treasury bond futures close higher Thursday

China's treasury bond futures closed higher on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in September up 0.36 percent to 93.114 yuan (15.15 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in December gained 0.04 percent to close at 93.406 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 2015 gained 0.04 percent to 93.85 yuan.

The contracts are agreements to buy or sell treasury bonds at a predetermined price and set date. They allow investors to bet on and profit from the movements in the value of the bonds.

The treasury bond futures were launched at the Shanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange and started trading on Sept. 6, 2013.