In finance, a market condition where the futures price of a commodity is lower than its spot price, the opposite of contango.
From 'backward' + '-ation' (Latin suffix forming abstract nouns). A 19th-century financial term created to describe market dynamics in commodity trading.
Backwardation is what happens when people are desperate to use something now rather than later—it's a hidden signal that supplies are tight, making it an economic indicator that savvy traders watch like hawks.
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