RTRS:UPDATE 4-Oil edges up to $104, demand worries weigh
* Dollar near 10-month high, then eases
* Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline stops again - source
* Brent crude on course to end week little changed
* Evidence mounts of slower U.S. economic growth (Recasts with higher prices, adds quotes)
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Oil edged above $104 a barrel on Friday, rebounding from an earlier decline and heading for a small weekly gain, although concern about the strength of demand growth limited the rebound.
A rally in refined products such as gasoil, a bomb attack closing an Iraqi export pipeline and steadier European equities lent support to crude, countering the U.S. dollar's rise close to a 10-month high.
Brent crude was up 84 cents at $104.62 a barrel by 1042 GMT, and was on course to rise about 0.7 percent this week. U.S. oil was up 59 cents at $95.75.
"Equities are still well supported by the actions of the central banks. Once you get closer to $100 on Brent, there is a little bit more demand," said Olivier Jakob, oil consultant at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
Oil fell earlier as the stronger dollar weighed on prices. Three regional Federal Reserve officials called for the U.S. central bank to stop buying mortgage-backed bonds. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for other currency holders and tends to weigh on oil and other risk assets.
Lending support, oil flows from Iraq to Ceyhan in Turkey were halted on Friday, a shipping source said. The pipeline normally pumps about 300,000 barrels per day, although output so far in May has been lower, say trade sources.
Even so, some analysts were focusing on the potential for more oil-price weakness ahead, citing the view that supply is still ample.
"It is questionable whether oil prices will be able to defy a stronger U.S. dollar for any length of time in view of the oversupplied market," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Doubts about the strength of oil demand persist. On Thursday, data showed the U.S. economy showed signs of slowing in the second quarter, as well as a spike in new claims for jobless benefits last week.
Brent has risen from its low of $96.75 for the year touched on April 18. It is around $15 short of its 2013 peak of $119.17 reached on Feb. 8.
The spread between the U.S. benchmark and Brent CL-LCO1=R widened beyond $10 a barrel for the first time since May 7 in the previous session, and was at about $8 on Friday. It hit a 2013 low of $7.20 earlier this week. (Editing by William Hardy)
