DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday tracking oil prices and global shares lower as investors bet that interest rates will remain persistently high, boding ill for the world economy.

A growing sense that interest rates in major economies will stay higher for longer to contain inflation, ever resilient US economic data and a sharp unwinding of traders’ positions for a bond rally have hit hard.

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council’s monetary policy is usually guided by the Federal Reserve’s decision as most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar.Dubai’s main share index fell 0.2%, hit by a 3.3% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.1% decrease in Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp .