(Yicai Global) Nov. 30 -- Global commodity trader and miner Glencore has became the first foreign investor to buy pure terephthalic acid futures in China, just as it was the first to snap up the country's crude oil and iron ore contracts earlier this year.

The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange started to allow international investors to trade PTA futures from today. Glencore entrusted Xinhu Futures to buy the PTA1901 contract with the help of Straits Financial.

China's unique PTA futures enter the world market with its price as an important reference for domestic and foreign trade negotiations, Yang Xidong, general manager of Xinhu Futures, told China Securities Journal today. He said the contracts will boost its global influence and make China a pricing center for ester products.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of PTA, a commodity chemical. Listed on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in 2006, the futures were the first for a chemical product in China and the world's sole contracts in the polyester industry chain. Their pricing is an important benchmark for global traders, with overseas firms having shown interest in entering the market.

Editor: Bivash Mukherjee