Contango and backwardation monitor
How this is computed
WTI Crude Oil futures were in backwardation at the 2026-10-26 settlement: the Jan 2027 contract settled at 99.49 against 101.76 for Dec 2026, a front to next spread of -2.23% and an annualized roll yield of +31.09%. Of the 4 curves tracked on that date, 3 were in contango and 1 in backwardation.
Kresmion computes each market's front to next spread, its contango, flat or backwardation label (a band of plus or minus 0.25%) and the annualized roll yield from each day's delivery-month settlements, as a description of curve structure, not a forecast.
Whether later delivery months settle above the front month (contango) or below it (backwardation), the front to next spread, and the annualized roll yield implied by that price step. Source: daily delivery-month settlement snapshots. Full method.
As of 2026-10-26
Front to next spread over 70 settlements, oldest at left. Dashed line marks a flat curve.
| Contract | Delivery month | Settle | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLZ26.NYMfront | Dec 2026 | 101.76 | 331,867 |
| CLF27.NYM | Jan 2027 | 99.49 | 147,481 |
| CLG27.NYM | Feb 2027 | 97.17 | 91,597 |
| CLH27.NYM | Mar 2027 | 94.83 | 86,541 |
| CLJ27.NYM | Apr 2027 | 92.67 | 40,475 |
| CLK27.NYM | May 2027 | 90.74 | 35,829 |
| CLM27.NYM | Jun 2027 | 88.97 | 80,011 |
| CLN27.NYM | Jul 2027 | 87.31 | 16,478 |
Free account
Every futures curve we track, with a free account
A free account opens the full curve monitor: Brent, heating oil, gasoline, silver, copper, platinum, soybeans, wheat, coffee, sugar, cocoa and cotton join the four here, along with equity-index, Treasury, currency and bitcoin futures, each with its delivery-month curve, spread and roll yield. When the WTI Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Gold or Corn curve moves between contango, flat and backwardation, the change is also logged in the commodities event feed.
As of 2026-10-26
Front to next spread over 70 settlements, oldest at left. Dashed line marks a flat curve.
| Contract | Delivery month | Settle | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGX26.NYMfront | Nov 2026 | 2.602 | 133,531 |
| NGZ26.NYM | Dec 2026 | 3.022 | 177,911 |
| NGF27.NYM | Jan 2027 | 3.514 | 70,764 |
| NGG27.NYM | Feb 2027 | 3.164 | 28,152 |
| NGH27.NYM | Mar 2027 | 2.494 | 35,130 |
| NGJ27.NYM | Apr 2027 | 2.439 | 29,231 |
| NGK27.NYM | May 2027 | 2.497 | 15,654 |
| NGM27.NYM | Jun 2027 | 2.658 | 8,790 |
As of 2026-10-26
Front to next spread over 71 settlements, oldest at left. Dashed line marks a flat curve.
| Contract | Delivery month | Settle | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCV26.CMXfront | Oct 2026 | 4,022.30 | 56 |
| GCZ26.CMX | Dec 2026 | 4,038.40 | 180,320 |
| GCG27.CMX | Feb 2027 | 4,072.20 | 24,394 |
| GCJ27.CMX | Apr 2027 | 4,104.50 | 6,714 |
| GCM27.CMX | Jun 2027 | 4,139.50 | 3,650 |
| GCQ27.CMX | Aug 2027 | 4,174.90 | 979 |
| GCV27.CMX | Oct 2027 | 4,208.70 | 440 |
| GCZ27.CMX | Dec 2027 | 4,242.50 | 911 |
As of 2026-10-26
Front to next spread over 69 settlements, oldest at left. Dashed line marks a flat curve.
| Contract | Delivery month | Settle | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZCZ26.CBTfront | Dec 2026 | 455.00 | 219,648 |
| ZCH27.CBT | Mar 2027 | 468.75 | 103,118 |
| ZCK27.CBT | May 2027 | 477.50 | 39,922 |
| ZCN27.CBT | Jul 2027 | 484.00 | 30,675 |
| ZCU27.CBT | Sep 2027 | 480.25 | 9,488 |
| ZCZ27.CBT | Dec 2027 | 494.00 | 16,343 |
| ZCH28.CBT | Mar 2028 | 507.75 | 699 |
| ZCK28.CBT | May 2028 | 515.00 | 145 |
How this is computed
For each market we take the latest settlement date that carries at least two delivery months and read that day's full curve, ordered from the nearest contract outward. The front month is the contract closest to expiry; every point to its right is a separate, later delivery month further out on the curve. The chart plots the settle of each delivery month against its position on the curve.
The front to next spread is the next delivery's settle minus the front settle, divided by the front settle, in percent. A curve is labelled contango when that spread is greater than +0.25 percent (later months priced higher), backwardation when it is below -0.25 percent (later months priced lower), and flat when it sits between the two.
The annualized roll yield annualizes that same front to next price step. It takes the ratio of the front settle to the next settle, raises it to the power of twelve divided by the number of months between the two deliveries, subtracts one, and states the result as a percent. The month gap is floored at one so adjacent-month curves stay well defined. The spread-history strip recomputes the front to next spread for every recorded settlement, so it lengthens by one point each day as more history accrues.
The dotted line is the same market's curve about a week earlier: the latest recorded settlement at least seven and at most fourteen days before the current one, dated in the chart's legend. Both curves are drawn by delivery month, so a contract that has expired since sits at the left edge of the dotted line only. A market with less history than that shows no dotted line.
This describes the structure of the curve as of the latest settlement. It is a description, not a prediction of where prices go and not a trade signal. Curve shapes can persist or change, and this page makes no directional call.
Cite this data
Kresmion computes each market's front to next spread, its contango, flat or backwardation label (a band of plus or minus 0.25%) and the annualized roll yield from each day's delivery-month settlements, as a description of curve structure, not a forecast.
Upstream: Daily delivery-month futures settlement snapshots
Kresmion, "Futures Curve Contango and Backwardation Monitor", data as of 2026-10-26, https://kresmion.com/tools/futures-curve. Upstream data: Daily delivery-month futures settlement snapshots.
Link to this data (HTML):
<a href="https://kresmion.com/tools/futures-curve">Futures Curve Contango and Backwardation Monitor (Kresmion)</a>