Crude and heating oil prices will rise in the next year as global demand increases amid tightening supplies, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs predicts. Though commodity prices retreated in the second quarter following the Japanese earthquake, slowing US economic expansion and tightening Chinese monetary policy, they are tipped to rebound during the next 12 months, Bloomberg reported. In its Commodity Watch forecast report, Goldman analysts predicted that West Texas Intermediate crude prices would hit $126.50 a barrel in a year’s time. Prices shorter term would rise to $111 a barrel in three months and $115 a barrel in six months. Oil prices have hovered just beneath $100 a barrel in recent weeks after falling from a 30-month high of $114 a barrel in May. Heating oil prices were also heading north, according to the powerful Wall Street investment bank. US distillate inventories had declined sharply this year and lacked the typical seasonal increase in recent weeks, platts.com reported.

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