BEIJING, July 2 -- China's five-year treasury bond futures opened lower on Thursday, with contracts for settlement in September opening 0.18 percent down at 95.6 yuan (15.62 U.S. dollars).

The contract for December 2015 opened 0.24 percent lower at 97.64 yuan and the March of 2016 contract opened 0.27 percent lower at 97.92 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 and started trading on Sept. 6, 2013.