(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs introduced its 2013 Brent oil price forecast at $130 a barrel, saying crude oil prices will continue to rise in order to slow demand growth, even in a relatively poor economic growth environment.
The firm introduced a 2013 WTI price forecast of $126 a barrel, saying the WTI-Brent spread will likely compress further as the Seaway pipeline increases capacity to 400,000 barrels per day.
The firm maintained its 2012 price forecast of $120 a barrel for Brent and $112.5 a barrel for WTI.
"We continue to view the crude oil market as navigating between the currently tight physical oil markets and the threat that the European debt crisis could trigger a global economic recession in the near future, which would lead to a sharp drop in oil demand," analysts said in a note.
(Reporting by Antonita Devotta and Soma Das; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
