SHANGHAI, July 9 (Reuters) - The Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) said on Tuesday that it plans to launch China's first platinum and palladium futures contracts to offer a domestic price hedging mechanism.

The GFEX will be the first exchange to allow delivery against its contracts of platinum and palladium in a form used by the main consumers, automakers and other industrial sectors. Its contracts may also support platinum investment demand in the world's second-largest economy.

(Reporting by Amy Lv in Shanghai and Polina Devitt in London; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)