2011-02-19, EIJING - BEIJING - The Chinese securities regulator said Friday that it has approved the trading of lead futures on Shanghai Futures Exchange.
 
The Shanghai Futures Exchange had completed preliminary design of lead futures contracts and drawn up strict rules on transactions, settlements and deliveries, said the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in a statement on its website.
 
Trading of lead futures would start after the CSRC approved the futures contracts, and the exact time would be decided by the bourse.
 
China is the world's biggest producer and consumer of lead, which is widely used in batteries. Since 2001, China's annual consumption of lead has grown by an average 17 percent annually.
 
In 2009, the country produced 3.77 million tons of lead, accounting for 42.5 percent of the world output, and consumed 3.9 million tons, 40 percent of the global consumption, said the CSRC in a separate statement.
 
Lead futures would help the country's lead-related enterprises hedge risks and improve the lead pricing mechanism, it said.