Overview
- Houthi-run media said the group launched missile and drone strikes on Aramco facilities and a Riyadh target, a claim that helped push Brent above $106 and that Saudi coalition forces said they countered by intercepting six ballistic missiles on Thursday.
- Brent crude has traded around $105–106 per barrel after the flare-up, which leaves market prices well above Goldman Sachs’ new December forecast of $85 per barrel.
- Goldman Sachs and other analysts now map a wide range of outcomes with oil falling toward about $80 if exports normalize and rising to roughly $120 if attacks on tankers and ports intensify.
- Traders remain focused on chokepoints and alternate routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea hub at Yanbu, where past pipeline damage and the need for ship‑to‑ship transfers have limited Saudi export capacity and kept supplies fragile.
- Tighter refined‑product stocks are raising diesel and LNG prices and could feed into broader inflation, so markets will watch whether New York talks produce a verifiable phased deal or whether further strikes expand disruptions.