what is roll yield 
roll yield is the amount of return generated in the futures market after an investor rolls a short term contract into a longer term contract and profits from the convergence of the futures price toward a higher spot or cash price roll yield is positive when a futures market is in backwardation which occurs when a futures contract trades at a higher price as it approaches expiration compared to when the contract is further away from expiration understanding roll yieldroll yield is a profit that can be generated when investing in the futures market due to the price difference between futures contracts with different expiration dates when investors purchase futures they have both the right and the obligation to buy the asset underlying the futures investment at a specified date in the future unless they sell their position to offset the long futures position ahead of the delivery date most futures investors do not want to take delivery of the physical asset that the futures investment represents so they close the position before expiration or roll their near term expiring futures investments into other futures contracts with expiration dates further in the future rolling the position allows the investor to maintain their investments in the assets without having to take physical delivery the number of futures contracts traded worldwide in 2022 1backwardation vs contango