DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf slipped into negative territory on Wednesday, as traders awaited US inflation data for cues on a large Federal Reserve rate hike this month.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.1% to a near six-month low, with oil behemoth Saudi Aramco losing 3.4% and Sahara International Petrochemical Co plunging about 10%.

The US dollar will remain strong for at least the next three months as it basks in both expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate rises and safe-haven appeal stemming from global recession fears, a Reuters poll of FX analysts showed.

Worries that higher rates could bring the global economy to a standstill, or even into a recession, have been the key driver for the slump in world stocks this year and the surge in the safe-haven US dollar.

Dubai’s main share index dropped 0.5%, weighed down by a 2.9% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 0.6% decline in logistic firm Aramex.

In Abu Dhabi, stocks finished 0.8% lower, hit by a 0.7% fall in the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank.

However, Abu Dhabi Ports jumped 3.8%, after it signed an agreement to support Hayat Biotech’s global expansion.