when futures prices are higher than current prices there s the expectation that the spot price will rise to converge with the futures price for example traders will sell or short futures contracts that have higher prices in the future and purchase at the lower spot prices the result is more demand for the commodity driving the spot price higher over time the spot price and the futures price converge 
a futures market can shift between contango and backwardation and remain in either state for a short or extended period backwardation examplefor example let s say the there was a crisis in the production of west texas intermediate crude oil due to poor weather as a result the current supply of oil falls dramatically traders and businesses rush in and buy the oil which pushes the spot price to 150 per barrel however traders expect the weather issues to be temporary as a result the prices of futures contracts for the end of the year remain relatively unchanged at 90 per barrel the oil markets would be in backwardation over the course of the next few months the weather issues are resolved and crude oil production and supplies get back to normal levels over time the increased production pushes down spot prices to converge with the end of year futures contracts 