NYMEX July crude settled 12 cents higher at $84.03/barrel Friday in quiet, rangebound trade as investors awaited the outcome of Sunday's Greek election.
ICE August Brent settled at $97.61/b, up 44 cents.
Refined products were mostly firm throughout the session, with NYMEX July heating oil settling 1.87 cents higher at $2.6465/gal and July RBOB at $2.7017/gal, up 2.53 cents.
"The markets were relatively calm on Friday on light book squaring ahead of the weekend, with Sunday's elections in Greece the greatest unknown," Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective, said in a note.
The Greek elections over the weekend could determine whether the debt-ridden country remains in the 17-member eurozone.
"WTI keeps covering the same ground, suggesting that participants are establishing defenses, awaiting the outcome of the Greek elections on Sunday," Mike Fitzpatrick of Kilduff Group said in a note. "The sum and substance of it all is how will the outcome drive aggregate demand. Unfortunately, there is no good answer."
In the very short term, Fitzpatrick said, an outcome that appears to save the single-currency bloc will probably be cheered by investors and be supportive to oil prices.
Strength in US equities and weakness in the US dollar provided some underlying support to the oil complex.
The US Dollar Index on ICE was more than 34 points lower by the NYMEX settle, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index both made gains.
Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy, said the crude market has corrected significantly over the last six weeks and needs a sign of a global recession to move significantly lower or a European resolution to make a move to the upside.
"[NYMEX] front-month crude has been and continues to consolidate above an eight-month low reached on Tuesday," McGillian said, noting the lackluster trading conditions in the market on Friday.
US economic data Friday did little to entice futures higher.
The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index fell below market expectations in June -- and to its lowest level since November -- at 2.3, from a 17.1 reading in May. Market expectations were for a reading of 13.
