BEIJING -- China's five-year treasury bond futures closed higher on Thursday, with the contract for March 2020 closing 0.10 percent higher at 99.97 yuan (about $14.3).

The contract for settlement in June 2020 closed 0.11 percent higher at 99.7 yuan. The contract for settlement in September 2020 closed 0.09 percent higher at 99.41 yuan.

The contracts are agreements to buy or sell treasury bonds at a predetermined price on a 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.