Oil and dollar pull up share prices

Cheaper oil and metals helped pull European shares back from their earlier lows on Friday and they closed up 0.5%.

Airlines, carmakers and retailers all rose, but energy companies were under pressure as Brent fell more than 3.5% to around $113 a barrel.

A major influence on commodities was the dollar rising to a five-month high against the euro. That is due to mounting worries about the euro zone economy and as investors no longer expect an ECB interest rate hike this year.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s smaller than expected loss caused its shares to rise 3.2%.

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