(MENAFN - AFP) Brent crude oil struck a three-month peak Friday on the back of the weak dollar, upbeat German data and growing global economic optimism, but pulled lower in late afternoon deals as dealers took profits.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March hit 113.84 per barrel -- the highest level since mid-October. It later stood at 113.17, down 11 cents from Thursday's closing level.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March or West Texas Intermediate (WTI), shed 24 cents to 95.70 a barrel."Oil is heading for the longest streak of weekly advances in nearly four years after optimism on global demand took both crude benchmarks higher," said CMC Markets analyst Matt Basi."Recent German confidence figures have added to an improving picture from the US and China, with US official figures suggesting demand has increased by the most in a month last week."Meanwhile, the European single currency surged to 1.3479 -- which marked the highest level since February 29, 2012 -- after news that German business confidence had struck the highest level in seven months.The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index for Europe's top economy rose to 104.2 points in January -- its highest reading since June -- from 102.4 points a month earlier.The euro also spiked after the European Central Bank revealed that 278 eurozone banks will repay early 137.16 billion euros (184.5 billion) of ultra-cheap three-year loans made available to them last year in emergency liquidity measures.A weak greenback tends to stimulate demand for dollar-priced crude, which becomes cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies like the euro. That tends to stimulate demand and spark higher price levels.European stock markets also advanced on Friday, with Frankfurt hitting a five-year high as the German data helped offset news that the British economy had contracted by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.Crude futures had jumped Thursday on the back of growing optimism after strong economic indicators in the US, China and Europe.Figures from British bank HSBC showed China's manufacturing activity in January hitting a two-year high.Also on Thursday, US jobless claims came in well below expectations, an unexpectedly strong result for the second week in a row.In Europe, a purchasing managers index, an indicator of manufacturing and services activity, in January reached its highest level in 10 months.The greater optimism came as weekly data from the US Department of Energy pointed to a larger build of oil stockpiles than expected.The results showed a gain of 2.8 million barrels, whereas analysts had predicted an increase of 1.7 million barrels.
