BEIJING, Dec. 1 -- China's treasury bond futures opened lower on Monday, with contract for settlement in December opening 0.024 yuan lower at 96.876 yuan (15.79 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in March 2015 opened 0.09 yuan lower at 97.500 yuan. The contract for settlement in June 2015 opened 0.33 yuan lower at 97.678 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.