The Shanghai Futures Exchange, one of China's three commodities futures bourses, plans to launch trade in China's first gold futures on January 9, sources close to the exchange said on Friday.
The exchange had said it would start mock trading on January 2 for gold futures, which received regulatory approval in mid-September although the exchange has moved cautiously as it aims to rein in speculation and protect investors from risk.
The sources said the exchange had unofficially informed some of its members of the debut date on Thursday, but an official announcement was still pending formal approval from regulators.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its Web site late on Friday that it had approved the launch of gold futures and that trade would begin soon, but it did not specify a date. "The exchange is getting ready for it," said one of the sources, adding that he could not see any relation between the timing of the launch and a surge in spot gold prices.
The spot gold price had firmed to $834.00 on Friday, after surpassing $830 on Thursday with safe haven flows after the assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
The exchange has already set the size of its gold futures contracts at 1,000 grams per lot, more than triple the original plan for 300 grams per lot. It has also set a 5 percent limit on daily price movements for gold futures and a minimum margin requirement of 7 percent of the contract value. The exchange currently trades futures contracts in copper, aluminium, zinc, rubber and fuel oil.
It is also considering launching more commodities and financial derivatives, although progress has been slow due to risk concerns. Beijing has delayed the launch of stock index futures trading due to concerns that it would bring instability to China's stock market.