DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Tuesday, as investors waited for a US inflation report to gauge when the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this year.

January US inflation data could jolt markets at 1330 GMT. Economists polled by Reuters expect the consumer price index (CPI) to rise 2.9% year-on-year, down from 3.4% in the previous month.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council is usually guided by Fed policy because most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index advanced 0.9%, led by a 1.1% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 2.8% increase in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.

Aramco has started trading a US crude oil grade that underpins the global Brent benchmark in a process run by oil-index publisher S&P Global Commodity Insights, the publisher said.