July 13 Reuters Most stock markets in the Gulf eased in early trade on Wednesday, ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data for June, as the region resumed trading after a long eid break.
The U.S. 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 safehaven appeal stemming from global recession fears, a Reuters poll of FX analysts showed.
A high inflation print would likely be read by the Fed as a sign it needs to continue with aggressive interest rate rises to get on top of surging prices, even if this might push the economy into recession.
The Qatari benchmark declined more than 1, dragged down by a 3.3 slide in the Gulf39;s biggest lender Qatar National Bank.
Dubai39;s main share index fell 0.1, hit by a 1 fall in bluechip developer Emaar Properties and a 0.7 decrease in Emirates Integrated Telecommunications.
In Abu Dhabi, the index dropped 0.1, with telecoms firm e retreating 0.8.
Saudi Arabia39;s benchmark index gained 0.8, extending gains from the previous session, led by a 2.1 rise in Saudi National Bank and a 1.8 increase in Riyad Bank.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf39;s financial markets, edged up, a day after prices fell through 100 a barrel for the first time since April, but gains were limited by caution ahead of U.S. inflation data that could weaken the market.
In a monthly report issued on Tuesday, OPEC expected that global oil demand would…