BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- China's treasury bond futures closed higher on Thursday, with the contract for September 2018 closing 0.22 percent higher at 98.71 yuan (about 14.63 U.S. dollars).

The contract for settlement in December 2018 closed 0.21 percent higher at 98.81 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 2019 had no trading.

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.

(This article is generated by Xinhua News Robot.)