Oil edges up on weak dollar in volatile trade

Crude prices edged up on Friday as the U.S. dollar weakened against a basket of currencies, but gains were limited by soft U.S. house data.

The euro rose after Greek central bank chief George Provopoulus said Greece will repay its debts in full without restructuring if it sticks to an austerity plan. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also said France opposed a Greek debt restructuring and would defend the euro. A stronger euro meant often a weakening dollar. The dollar index dipped about 0.80 percent.

Besides, the U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Crude prices tend to rise before a long weekend as investors hold long positions.

But the gains were pared as U.S. pending home sales came in missing estimates. The National Association of Realtors said the Pending Home Sales Index fell 11.6 percent to 81.9 in April, the lowest level since September, missing economists' expectation of a 1.0 percent decrease.

Soft data hurt investors' hopes for a recovery of the vital housing markets and caused concerns about U.S. future crude demand.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery gained 36 cents, or 0.36 percent to settle at 100.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, above 100 dollars for the third straight trading day. For the week, the U.S. benchmark rose 1.11 percent.

But in London, Brent crude for July delivery dipped slightly and last traded around 115 dollars a barrel.

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