[bak-wer-dey-shuh
n] 
| (on the London stock exchange) the fee paid by a seller of securities to the buyer for the privilege of deferring delivery of purchased securities. |
Backwardation
The theory that says futures prices will tend to rise over the life of a contract. Therefore the near-term contracts trade at a higher price than the longer-term contracts.
Investopedia Commentary
This is the opposite of "contango."
Related Links
Futures Fundamentals
See also: Contango, Futures, Inverted Market