HANGZHOU -- China has launched its first hardware index in east China's Zhejiang province after approval by the Ministry of Commerce.

The China Yongkang Hardware Index, launched Thursday, will be updated on a commercial information forecast website run by the ministry.

The index consists of a hardware product price index and hardware product prosperity index, the level of which are decided according to the state of the hardware manufacturing industry and trade.

Yongkang city in Zhejiang is known as the "city of hardware" as it is China's most important base for manufacturing, trading and exporting of hardware products.

Currently, more than 10,000 kinds of hardware products are exported to more than 180 countries and regions around the world from Yongkang.

In 2012, market trading volume in the city reached 47 billion yuan ($7.68 billion), including 16.75 billion yuan from online trade.

"The index is like a barometer of the market, providing information valuable for business people in the industry," said Su Weihua, deputy head of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics who took part in the hardware index project.