By Claudia Assis and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures gained Friday, recouping some of their recent losses as the dollar weakened and European central bankers moved to loosen some lending rules. Crude oil for August CLQ2 +0.96% rose 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $78.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil ended at its lowest since October on Thursday, suffering its sharpest percentage decline since December. Oil retreated 4%, getting slapped amid concerns weakening global growth would take a toll on demand. “Unless (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) makes significant production cuts, the downswing can be expected to persist,� analysts with Commerzbank said in a note to clients. Prices were catching a bid, however, amid dollar weakness and gains for U.S. equities. Markets also got a boost from the European Central Bank‘s decision to accept more assets as collateral to “improve the access of the banking sector� to funds. The ICE dollar index DXY -0.10% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major global rivals, declined to 82.238 from 82.353 in late Thursday North American session. Despite Friday’s gains, oil’s fall “has yet to bottom out,� analysts at Barclays said in a note. “Until a permanent solution is found to the euro zone’s problems, the global economy is likely to muddle through this crisis for a considerable while, and persistent bouts of risk aversion are likely to haunt the oil markets, making any sustained upside difficult.� Oil could trade in a range for years, “with the downside protected at around $100 per barrel ... but the upside capped by a weaker growth and investment environment, barring the flaring up of geopolitical events,� they added. Other energy products tracked oil higher. July gasoline RBN2 +0.66% added 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.57 a gallon. Heating oil for the same month’s delivery HON2 +0.32% advanced 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.57 a gallon, while July natural gas NGN12 +1.24% rose 3 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.62 per million British thermal units. Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.

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