RE: Nat Gas Headed Dwn...If these prices of yours are indeed correct, you'll note that the futures price is less than the spot price. The only reason for this is that a default risk has been priced in. It means there is a shortage of natural gas, and this phenomenon is called backwardation. The futures price should normally be a bit more than the spot price to account for storage costs and a little profit. This is called contango ... which is patently not happening here then.