Oil will hit $140 a barrel with recession risks overplayed, Goldman Sachs says

• Goldman Sachs strategists shared their $140 a barrel oil price target in a recent note.
• Crude briefly slipped into a bear market this week and has tumbled 15% over the past month.

Goldman Sachs is still bullish on oil, even as crude tumbles away from its 2022 high towards $100 a barrel.

Strategists shared a $140 a barrel price target for Brent crude and a $137 a barrel target for WTI crude in a recent research note.

Recession risks have spooked commodities investors this year, with fears growing that an economic downturn will lead to demand destruction.

But Goldman Sachs said that a collapse in demand for crude is unlikely.

"A mild recession is not a risk for commodities," they said. "The ongoing downturn in global economic growth… poses little threat to commodities demand and, given the inherent structural supply constraints, should not stand in the way of further physical goods inflation."

Other investors have also predicted that demand for crude oil will remain strong, particularly as China eases Covid-19 restrictions.

"As China starts to reopen we'll see higher energy prices, unfortunately," Laffer Tengler chief executive Nancy Tengler told CNBC earlier this week.

Oil prices skyrocketed past $125 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine. But they've slid by around 15% over the past month - with the asset class briefly entering a bear market Wednesday.

Brent crude traded at $104.60 a barrel as of 7.10AM ET Friday, while WTI crude was priced at $102.47 a barrel.

Read more: Bank of America predicts that a ban on Russian oil exports could push prices as high as $200 a barrel - and breaks down why this could trigger a global recession or stock market crash