China treasury bond futures open lower Tuesday

China's treasury bond futures opened slightly lower on Tuesday, with contract for settlement in March 2015 opening 0.1 percent lower at 96.8 yuan (15.81 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in June 2015 dropped 0.1 percent to open at 97.3 yuan and the September 2015 contract lost 0.2 percent to open at 97.5 yuan.

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

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