what is contango 
contango is a situation where the futures price of a commodity is higher than the spot price contango usually occurs when an asset s price is expected to rise over time that results in an upward sloping forward curve understanding contangofutures contract supply and demand affect their price at each available expiration contracts represent a specified amount of a commodity to be delivered at a certain date called the expiration date and other specifications for example one crude oil futures contract is for 1 000 barrels and defines when trading stops how the contract is settled the minimum price fluctuations and more 1commodities traders buy and sell these contracts on commodities exchanges buyers place bids to purchase the contracts some of which will take physical possession of the commodities sellers sell derivatives of the contracts or the actual commodities these contracts represent commodities that will be delivered in the future so their price is what traders believe the contracts will be worth when they reach their expiration date spot prices on the other hand are what a commodity would sell for if you were to buy it right now and take immediate delivery so if futures prices are higher than spot prices it means traders expect prices to rise this is usually represented by a rising curve on a graph 