China regulator approves Shanghai copper options

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved an application from the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) to trade copper futures options, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Sunday. Futures options for copper would be China's first for an industrial product and serve as a risk management tool in non-ferrous metals derivatives trading, the financial newspaper said, without providing a timeframe for the launch.
A futures option contract gives the buyer the right to assume a futures position at a specified price. The China Securities Journal reported in March that the ShFE was studying new commodity derivative products, including options for copper, aluminium alloy and alumina.