THE Shanghai Futures Exchange, China's biggest metals bourse, will offer silver futures from next week after draft contract rules received a positive response from potential investors, according to an executive.

The yuan-denominated contract will start next Thursday, with the new product helping producers to control their risks, the exchange's Vice President Huo Ruirong said yesterday. Each contract is 15 kilograms.

While silver is used in industrial processes, including the manufacture of solar panels, it's also bought by some consumers as an investment to protect against inflation. Spot prices in dollars rallied 83 percent in 2010 before dropping last year.

"Being the world's largest silver producer and user, China's introduction of a silver futures contract will add one more tool for its local industry to better manage the risks associated with price volatility," Fu Peng, a consultant at Galaxy Futures Co, said from Beijing.

Source:shanghaidaily