China started the trading of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) futures contracts at 9 a.m. at Dalian Commodity Exchange Monday, with September contract V909 opening 275 yuan higher at 6575 yuan per ton.

After steel futures and rice futures, this is the third new futures trading launched in China this year.

PVC is a kind of synthetic resin widely used in construction, plumbing, electric wires and packaging. China is the world's largest PVC manufacturer, with an annual output of 8.82 million tonnes last year.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2009)