BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's treasury bond futures closed higher on Tuesday, with the contract for settlement in March 2016 up 0.19 percent to close at 100.98 yuan (about 15.39 U.S. dollars).

　　The June 2016 contract gained 0.21 percent to close at 100.88 yuan. The September 2016 contract rose 0.19 percent to 100.795 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.