China treasury bond futures open lower Tuesday

China's five-year treasury bond futures opened lower Tuesday, with the contract for settlement in June 2016 down 0.04 percent to 100.665 yuan (about 15.5 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in September 2016 opened 0.02 percent lower at 99.925 yuan. The contract for settlement in December 2016 lost 0.07 percent to open at 99.4 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.