Oil prices ended steady on Friday after hitting 2016 highs but finished April trading about 20 percent higher, with Brent crude having its best monthly gain in seven years. A weaker dollar and optimism that a global oil glut will ease have lifted crude futures by more than $20 a barrel since they plumbed 12-year lows below $30 in the first quarter. Brent futures settled just a penny lower at $48.13 a barrel, after reaching a 2016 peak at $48.50. It rose 21.5 percent in April, its largest monthly advance since May 2009. U.S. crude futures closed 11 cents lower at $45.92 a barrel, after hitting a year-to-date high at $46.78. It gained 20 percent in April, the biggest monthly gain in a year. With prices less than $5 away from $50 […]