Dalian, Mar. 11 (SMM) -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's securities and futures regulator, said on Tuesday that it has approved a proposal by the Dalian Commodity Exchange to launch a coking coal futures contract, the first of its kind in the world.

The CSRC said it hopes the contract will help steel companies and coal and coke producers to hedge price risks of raw materials, and that the trading of coking coal futures will help to improve the product's pricing mechanism.

The Dalian Commodity Exchange in Northeast China's Liaoning province started trading the world's first metallurgical coke futures in 2012.

Analysts said the new contract is part of the exchange's plan to launch new financial derivatives to help China gain more influence in the global price-setting process.

Market training and cultivation of institutional investors will be boosted after the new contract is introduced, said the CSRC.