China treasury bond futures close lower Thursday

China's treasury bond futures closed lower on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in December down 0.24 percent to finish at 96.026 yuan (15.64 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in March 2015 shrank 0.29 percent to close at 96.55 yuan. The contract for settlement in June 2015 lost 0.26 percent to finish at 96.95 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.