By Mohd Edrees Dec 22 (Reuters) - Dubai stocks closed higher on Friday ahead of U.S. inflation data that is expected to validate bets on rate cuts in 2024, while Abu Dhabi shares fell. Oil prices - a key catalyst to the Gulf's financial markets - rose on Friday as persistent tensions in the Red Sea deepened energy supply concerns. Among the winner, real estate developer Union Properties UPRO.DU rose 1.8% after the firm's board approved a deal with a national bank to settle company and its subsidiaries' debt.