Oil rises on U.S. housing data

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil and other commodity prices rose on Friday after U.S. housing data bolstered prospects of economic recovery but a mixed batch of U.S. corporate earnings raised concerns and kept Wall Street stocks straddling break-even.

The U.S. dollar recovered from steep losses earlier in the week as General Electric (GE.N) lowered its outlook and Bank of America (BAC.N) warned of a fresh surge in soured loans, enhancing the greenback's safe-haven appeal.

Oil rose for a fifth straight day and gained 6.1 percent on the week, partially reversing a 10 percent plunge last week, while copper prices climbed to a five-week high after an unexpected jump in U.S. home starts in June boosted hopes for recovery.

European shares and London's top share index both posted a fifth consecutive gain, but U.S. stocks traded lower for much of the session while the S&P 500 ended slightly lower.

A strong outlook late Thursday from International Business Machines (IBM.N), the world's largest technology services provider, lifted the Nasdaq and the Dow above break-even.

For the week, U.S. stocks posted their best gains since mid-March, with all three major indexes ending 7 percent or more higher.

Investors were caught between further signs that a global recession was ending and concerns that any recovery is still weak and the economy still must overcome a number of hurdles.

"There's still an underlying tone of risk aversion looming. People don't feel comfortable with the economy," said Melvin Harris, strategist at Advanced Currency Markets in New York.