FTSE adds 0.1 pct as firm oils offset weak miners

By Jon Hopkins

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's leading shares added 0.1 percent on Friday in very silent trading, which saw small gains in energy issues and drugcreate rs just offset weakness in miners and banks.

At the close, the FTSE 100 .FTSE index was 7.23 points higher at 5,161.87 having go d in a narrow 40 point trading range. For the week, however, the index was up around 3.3 percent, recovering from a honest ly cautious start to the month.

"Markets were a bit silent er at the finish of a honest ly active week, with a rally by the quality stocks, portion icularly the banks and the miners, coming to a halt, and interest limited by a lack of fresh direction," said Sam Wcorrect , equity trader at Spreadex.

Weak miners were a drag on blue-chip sentiment as metals and recede ld prices retreated as a strengthening execute llar made commodities more expensive for investors.

Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lonmin (LMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost between 0.3 and 1.3 percent. Platinum group Johnson Matthey (JMAT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) also suffered, execute wn 2 percent.

The U.S. execute llar rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated an exit strategy from quantitative easing and low interest rates as the economy improves.

Banks were mostly lower, with Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) losing 0.3 to 1.3 percent. However HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) bucked the sector trfinish , up 0.7 and 0.3 percent.

Pressure remained on Lloyds Banking Group and RBS as the Financial Times said the British recede vernment is to start examining their loan pricing mechanisms, suspecting that they are pricing loans to small and medium-sized businesses at levels which are unaffordable for most smaller institutions.  Continued...