Goldman hikes average Brent oil forecast to over $100 a barrel for March

March 13 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs expects Brent oil to average over $100 a barrel in March, and $85 in April, it said on Friday, as energy prices remain volatile due to the Iran war and damage to Middle East energy infrastructure and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent futures for May LCOc1 were trading at $100.13 a barrel at 0530 GMT, heading for about an 8% weekly increase. On Monday, prices hit $119.50 a barrel, its highest since mid-2022. O/R

Goldman sees Brent crude gradually easing back to the low $70s later in the year, however, if the disruption to oil flows proves longer-lived, oil prices could reach higher peaks and end the year at higher levels.

Goldman said a two-month disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on February 28 and through which one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supply passes, would push its fourth quarter average Brent price estimate from $71 a barrel to $93 a barrel.

Goldman on Thursday raised its Brent and WTI crude oil price forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2026 to $71 a barrel for Brent, from $66, and $67 per barrel for WTI from $62.