Stock markets in United Arab Emirates declined on Friday, tracking oil prices after a U.S. Federal Reserve governor said interest rate cuts should be delayed by at least two more months.

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers should delay interest rate cuts by at least another couple more months to see if a recent uptick in inflation signals stalling progress toward price stability or is just a bump in the road, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday.

Oil prices - a key component of Gulf economies – drifted 1.21% lower to $82.66 a barrel by 1042 GMT.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the United Arab Emirates, peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed’s policy moves closely.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index slipped 0.4%, hitting a nearly four-month low, weighed down by a 5.5% slump in IHC-owned investment firm Multiply Group, while sovereign wealth fund ADQ-owned real estate firm Q holding lost 4%.

Geopolitical tensions and risks surrounding oil markets could continue to weigh on sentiments in Abu Dhabi market, Abdelhadi Laabi, Chief Marketing Officer at KAMA Capital, said.

Most Gulf markets fall in early trade, Saudi gains

Dubai’s main market edged down 0.1% as majority of stocks were trading in red territory with top lender Emirates NBD Bank losing 1.9% and state-run Dubai Electricity and Water Authority decreasing 0.8%.

The Dubai market continued to see price corrections after hitting a new high this week, Laabi said, adding that market remains on a positive course overall and could return to the upside as it could find some support at current levels.

The Abu Dhabi index recorded a weekly loss of 1.6%, its biggest weekly decline since Oct. 20 last year, while Dubai slipped 0.8% on weekly basis - LSEG data.

================================== ABU DHABI     down 0.4% to 9,280 DUBAI         fell 0.1% to 4,226==================================