* Libya conflict, Yemen/Mideast unrest support oil prices * Saudi still sees optimal oil price $70-$80/bbl range * Coming up: API oil data, 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged up on Monday, pushing back above $108 a barrel and toward their highest since 2008 on geopolitical risks to supply and expectations for improving economic growth. Geopolitical supply risks have kept oil traders wary, as Libya's conflict and Middle East unrest persist and with analysts and brokers also eyeing OPEC-member Nigeria, where elections were postponed for a week on Sunday. NYMEX crude prices built on support offered by Friday's report showing U.S. employment registered solid growth for a second month in March and the jobless rate hit a two-year low of 8.8 percent, providing optimism about oil demand. ICE Brent front-month May crude LCOK1 moved above $119 a barrel on Monday, nearing the 2-1/2-year intraday front-month peak of $119.79 was struck on Feb. 24. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude CLK1 rose 13 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $108.07 a barrel by 8:34 a.m. EDT (1234 GMT), trading from $108.02 to $108.78. * A Libyan envoy was in Europe seeking to end Libya's civil war that has become locked in a battlefield stalemate between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. [ID:nLDE7331AW] * Saudi Arabia has not changed its view of the optimal oil price level and is still seeking $70 to $80 a barrel, a Saudi official told Reuters. [ID:nWNA5294] * Police and armed men in civilian clothes opened fire in two Yemeni cities on demonstrators opposed to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, witnesses said. [ID:nLDE7330FC] * Kuwait would like to see world oil prices decline but does not expect them to fall below $90 a barrel, Farouk al-Zanki, state oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corp. chief executive said. [ID:nLDE7330CV] * Gulf Arab states voiced deep concern on Sunday over what they called Iranian interference in their affairs after Iran objected to the dispatch of Saudi troops to Bahrain and a spying row raised tensions. [ID:nLDE7320JI] * Nigeria postponed parliamentary and presidential elections by one week after failing to get logistics prepared in time, a major embarrassment for a nation hoping to break with a history of chaotic polls. [ID:nLDE7320FS] MARKETS NEWS * U.S. stock index futures edged higher, with the S&P 500 facing a level where selling has clustered in recent sessions. [ID:nN04242597] * Gold rose on the back of higher crude and a weaker dollar. [GOL/] * World stocks rose on signs of growth in the global economy. The euro rose against the yen. [MKTS/GLOB] [FRX/] * Copper rose as recent U.S. jobs data boosted prospects for metals demand growth and risk appetite but concerns over slowing consumption in Japan capped gains. [MET/L] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * Conference Board releases employment trend index for March. 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) The index read 101.7 in the prior report. 8:34 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 108.07 0.13 0.1% 108.02 108.78 27,836 270,630 CLc2 108.64 0.14 0.1% 108.57 109.34 7,232 92,911 LCOc1 119.36 0.68 0.6% 118.75 119.75 48,562 184,821 RBc1 3.1555 0.0042 0.1% 3.1550 3.1758 2,237 11,097 RBc2 3.1381 0.0079 0.3% 3.1347 3.1535 1,815 50,490 HOc1 3.1430 0.0085 0.3% 3.1344 3.1608 1,433 7,522 HOc2 3.1535 0.0083 0.3% 3.1483 3.1709 632 52,958 * NYMEX crude oil for May CLc1 rose 13 cents to $108.07 a barrel by 8:34 a.m. in volume of 27,836 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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