By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose Monday, surpassing $108 a barrel and maintaining the upward momentum seen recent sessions to reach the latest in a string of fresh highs for 2011.
Lights, sweet West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery (CLK11 107.61, -0.33, -0.31%) rose 40 cents to stand at $108.34 a barrel.
On Friday, crude futures broke through $107 a barrel for the first time in about 30 months.
Oil futures moved higher still to start the week on a drumbeat of geopolitical unrest in the Middle East as well as sustained fighting in Libya, where rebels continue their efforts to oust Moammar Gadhafi.
Over the weekend, Gadhafi’s government rejected a cease-fire offer from the rebels’ Interim National Transitional Council.
Meanwhile, signs of increased economic activity, in the form of mergers and acquisitions, surfaced in the aftermath of better-than-expected U.S. jobs growth for March reported Friday.
Among the deals, China’s Minmetals Resources Ltd. said it offered $6.5 billion for Equinox Minerals Ltd. (CA:EQN 5.71, 0.00, 0.00%) (AU:EQN 7.35, +1.64, +28.72%) , a copper producer with operations in Zambia. The move, underscoring China’s need for raw materials, comes as Equinox is in the midst of attempting an acquisition of its own, of Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp. (CA:LUN 8.33, 0.00, 0.00%) See more on Minmetals making a bid to acquire Equinox.
