(Although one counter to this is that the U is the result of an inefficient market — when the crowds get involved valuations will float to
their market clearing prices).
If a price is above
the market clearing price, it will fall, causing sellers to produce less and buyers to purchase more; if it is below the market clearing price, it will rise, causing sellers to produce more and buyers to purchase less.
FInding
the market clearing price will make the markets start moving again, but it also might prove that some financial institutions are inverted (negative net worth), if not insolvent (can't get enough cash to pay all immediate claims).
So, relative to where the banks or other financials have them marked,
the market clearing price may be significantly below where they are currently marked, even though that market clearing price might be above what the pricing formulas suggest.
By contrast, in a shallow and illiquid market, or in a market in which large quantities of the deliverable asset have been deliberately withheld from market participants (an illegal action known as cornering the market),
the market clearing price for the futures may still represent the balance between supply and demand but the relationship between this price and the expected future price of the asset can break down.
The power glut during those hours drives down the «
market clearing price» for power, sometimes all the way to zero.