Oil up 0.8%, natural gas off 10-year lows

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Crude futures ended higher Friday, breaking a two-day losing streak and notching modest weekly gains as the dollar fell on an upbeat German economic survey and U.S. corporate news spurred hopes for more oil demand.

Crude for delivery in May �rose 78 cents, or 0.8%, to $103.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract expired at the end of floor trading Friday.

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Chesapeake Energy�s stock price fell more than 10% this week after CEO Aubrey McClendon reportedly took more than $1 billion in loans secured on interest in Chesapeake wells.

Oil had settled in the red for two sessions in a row, mirroring the same action in U.S. equities. On the week, prices climbed 0.2%.

Gains in the S&P 500 Index SPX �and in the euro after the German business survey �basically set the firmer tone today,� said Tim Evans, an analyst with Citi Futures Perspective. �The trade flow of the day was risk-on.�

Prices also got some support from the contract expiration, he added.

Germany�s April Ifo index, which gauges business confidence in the euro-zone country, rose to 109.9 in April from 109.8 in March. That contrasted with expectations of a decline to 109.5.

The German data strengthened the euro, pressuring the dollar and providing another leg of support for oil and other commodities.

The ICE dollar index DXY �dropped to 79.164 from 79.563 in late North American trading Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA �recently climbed 66 points, or 0.8%, to 13,031. The S&P 500 SPX �rose 0.2% as stocks trimmed gains throughout the day.

Stocks opened higher on better-than-expected results for several heavyweights, including Microsoft Corp. MSFT �and General Electric Co. GE .

Stocks are seen as a proxy for business conditions and as such an indicator of oil demand.

Markets will be watching for developments from International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings over the weekend, as well as the results of the first-round presidential vote in France. Read about France's election.

Among other energy products Friday, natural gas got a reprieve after settling Thursday at its lowest since September 2001.

May natural gas �gained 2 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $1.93 per million British thermal units.

On the week, however, prices declined 2.5%.

May gasoline , however, turned lower, and ended off 1 cent, or 0.14, to $3.14 a gallon. May heating oil �added 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $3.14 per gallon.

Gasoline futures lost 6.1% on the week, while heating oil declined 1.2%.