Oil prices and major energy stocks rose after a deadly missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport heightened fears that the widening Middle East conflict could threaten regional energy supplies and shipping routes.
Saudi civil aviation authorities said 12 people were killed and 309 injured when a missile hit a passenger-terminal complex serving domestic flights. The dead included four Saudi citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. The Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had already claimed attacks on the airport earlier in the week.
The strike followed several days of attacks on Saudi aviation infrastructure. Earlier assaults killed three people at Riyadh’s airport, including a Saudia pilot, while separate strikes killed civilians at Abha International Airport. Saudi authorities temporarily suspended operations at King Khalid, and hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted as airlines and foreign governments warned travelers to avoid the facility.
The escalation also raised the risk of a broader confrontation. President Donald Trump said the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis and planned to speak with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack after an American citizen was confirmed among the dead. The Saudi-led coalition called the strike a war crime and vowed a firm response.
The attacks came as fighting expanded around shipping lanes and energy infrastructure. Houthi forces have targeted Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, while concerns have also grown over attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
Goldman Sachs lifted its December Brent forecast to $90 a barrel from $85, citing the possibility that persistent supply risks would keep prices elevated. Diesel prices moved lower despite the crude advance, while President Trump said Russia and Ukraine had reached an energy ceasefire; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would support such an arrangement if Moscow did the same, but further attacks on Ukrainian energy assets were reported.
Diamondback Energy’s price target was raised to $215 from $205 as natural-gas pipeline capacity, including the newly operating Matterhorn system, began easing transportation bottlenecks. Diamondback and another natural-gas producer had recently found support near their 50-day moving averages, but both remained substantially extended after sharp 2026 rallies.
The immediate market response reflected the competing effects of higher geopolitical risk and unresolved supply conditions. Energy stocks had already rebounded strongly in the third quarter, led by refiners, and continued to rise early in the fourth quarter as investors weighed the potential for disruptions against the sector’s recent gains.