Tan Zuojun, Party chief of CPC Dalian Committee (Left) and Li Zhengqiang, president of the Dalian Commodity Exchange, open the market for trading LPG futures and options on March 30, 2020 at DCE, Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province. (Photo: China Daily)

Approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, liquefied petroleum gas futures and options started trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Monday.

More than 8,600 clients participated in the first day of trading LPG futures, with trading volume of 96,400 hands (unilateral) and holding 13,100 hands.

It is China's first gas energy derivatives and the first product that listed futures and options simultaneously, said CSRC Vice-Chairman Fang Xinghai.

"The listing of LPG futures and options is an important measure for the futures market to practice the concept of green development and improve the energy price formation mechanism, as well as a major progress in the construction of the domestic energy futures market system represented by coal, oil and gas," Fang said.

The LPG, the associate gas of the oil and gas field, and the by-product of crude oil refining, is one of the major clean and green fuels, as well as chemical materials with wide application.

According to Chen Shaowang, acting mayor of Dalian, China is the world's largest import importer and consumer of LPG and the third largest producer. Dalian is the largest domestic oil refining base and an important LPG production, trade and consumption center.

The city will continue to support the exchange to vigorously promote the development of world-class exchanges, said Chen.

It is the 20th futures variety and the fourth options variety listed at the DCE since its establishment in 1993.

Exchange President Li Zhengqiang said the listing of LPG futures and options, as well as the container capacity futures approved previously, marks the expansion of listed varieties of exchange to energy, shipping and a total of five sectors.