DUBAI: Major Gulf bourses ended lower on Thursday on worries over higher U.S. interest rates and the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed that a tight jobs market and unrelenting inflation could require the U.S. central bank to raise rates sooner than expected and begin reducing its overall asset holdings.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.3% drop in the kingdom’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank and a 0.8% decrease in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.

Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf state with a population of some 30 million, on Wednesday registered 3,045 new infections, up from some 1,000 cases announced on Sunday. That is still below a peak of more than 4,700 in June 2020.

The kingdom has cut February’s official selling price (OSP) for all grades of crude it is selling to Asia by at least $1 a barrel, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Saudi energy index was down 0.6%.

Crude prices rose sharply, extending a rally from the previous session on escalating unrest in OPEC+ oil producer Kazakhstan and supply outages in Libya.

Dubai’s main share index dropped 0.9%, weighed down by a 1.8% fall in top lender Emirates NBD.

In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%, hit by a 0.4% fall in telecoms firm Etisalat.

The United Arab Emirates, the regional tourism and commercial hub, saw daily cases reaching 2,708 on Wednesday as it hosts a world fair during its peak tourist season.