(Updates with afternoon trading)
* Oil prices rise ahead of "60 Minutes" interview
* Wall Street indexes higher on strong economic data
* Dollar falls against yen, gains against other currencies
By Nick Brown
NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices rallied on Friday afternoon ahead of a much-anticipated television interview with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, while Wall Street rose on strong economic data as U.S. stocks tried to end a rocky week on a high note.
Crude prices had been on track for a weekly loss, but spiked on Friday, putting oil in position for a gain on the week.
Energy investors were looking to cover short bets ahead of a televised interview Sunday by the U.S. news program "60 Minutes" with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. prince will be "comparing Iran's Ayatollah to Hitler, and the battle in Ghouta, Syria, is ramping up," said John Kilduff, partner at investment manager Again Capital in New York. "You can't be short oil over the weekend with all that going on in the region."
U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.78 percent to $62.28 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $66.15, up 1.58 percent on the day. Brent crude prices hit their highest in more than two weeks as U.S. stock prices rose and investors looked to cover short bets.
The S&P 500, which was down 1.5 percent on the week through Thursday, was trying to avoid its first five-day losing streak of 2018. Shares have struggled to weather a growing sense of turmoil in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and signs that protectionist policies could spur a trade war.
But those fears took a back seat, at least temporarily, to economic data showing U.S. factory output jumped 1.1 percent in February. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) WMT.N was up around 2.75 percent, and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) HD.N had gained nearly 1 percent, after the University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment index rose more than expected to 102.0.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 114.48 points, or 0.46 percent, to 24,988.14, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 7.1 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,754.43 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.61 points, or 0.02 percent, to 7,483.35. shares lost ground for the week, despite a modest gain on Friday, driven by exchange operator NEX Group's NXGN.L 30-percent jump after a takeover offer from U.S.-based peer CME Group CME.O . pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.29 percent, and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.04 percent.
Trade volume in U.S. government bonds was low and, save for a modest steepening, yields were little moved, as the market quieted in anticipation of next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates at that meeting for the first time this year. "We're looking towards next Wednesday," said Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst and trader at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 7/32 in price to yield 2.85 percent, from 2.824 percent late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last fell 14/32 in price to yield 3.0835 percent, from 3.061 percent Thursday. solid economic data, which bolstered the consensus expectation of a rate hike, also pushed the dollar up slightly against a basket of six currencies, with the dollar index .DXY rising 0.11 percent. The euro EUR= was down 0.18 percent to $1.2282.
But fears of political tensions did not disappear entirely, boosting the safe-haven Japanese yen, which strengthened 0.23 percent versus the greenback at 106.13 per dollar.
The dollar had earlier fallen as low as 105.61 against the yen, the lowest since March 7. GBP= was last trading at $1.3939, up 0.02 percent on the day.
Euro zone bond yields kept falling after another European Central Bank policymaker warned that inflation in the bloc remained sluggish, a potential hurdle to the withdrawal of monetary stimulus. GRAPHIC-World stocks well below Jan record high
http://reut.rs/2pgTjNA Eurex hit by technical issues, bond and stock futures trading delayed
UPDATE 3-U.S. special counsel subpoenas Trump business for Russia, other documents -NYT
UPDATE 6-Trump eyes tariffs on up to $60 bln Chinese goods; tech, telecoms, apparel targeted
Trump has decided to remove his national security adviser -Washington Post
Italian bond yields rise after League leader says euro not irreversible
M&A livens up European equity trading as STOXX heads for weekly loss
TREASURIES-Curve steepens slightly, volumes low ahead of FOMC next week
Dollar rises on data, yen gains on U.S. political uncertainty
Oil rises with Wall Street, heads for weekly gain
Euro zone bond yields fall as markets heed ECB's inflation message
GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl GRAPHIC-Emerging markets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV GRAPHIC-World FX rates in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh GRAPHIC-MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>