Ltd. Under the theory of normal backwardation, futures prices will tend to rise over the life of a contract because hedgers tend to be short the futures market.
Hedgers tend to be short the futures contract as insurance against their cash position.
The hedgers will pay the speculators a return to hold long positions in order to offset their risk. This is known as normal backwardation. A market is considered to be in backwardation when the cash price exceeds the future price or a nearby futures price is greater than a more distant futures price. If the reverse is true and hedgers are long futures contracts, the futures contract price would decline over its life. This situation is known as contango.