China's treasury bond futures closed lower Thursday, with the contract for settlement in December down 0.14 percent to finish at 98.7 yuan (15.51 U.S. dollars).

The March 2016 contract lost 0.19 percent to end at 98.6 yuan, and June contract was down 0.15 percent to 98.8 yuan.

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