MW: Crude futures firm as $80-a-barrel mark's eyed
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures on Monday rose slightly to trade just below $80 a barrel early Monday.
Commodity prices took a cue from a handful of deals in global mergers and acquisitions, including AIG's agreement to sell off its Asia operations in a transaction valued at $35.5 billion. Separately, German conglomerate Merck KGaA said it's going to buy biotech firm Millipore for $7.2 billion.
Against this backdrop, crude futures rose 13 cents to $79.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Also getting factored into the trading in energy, the dollar gained broadly against other major currencies. See Currencies for more on weakness in the British pound.
Investors will also keep an eye on U.S. data on consumer spending and personal incomes.
Checking out prices for other commodities, the benchmark gold contract rose $10 to stand at $1,119 an ounce. Copper futures also gained, up 6 cents to $3.33 a pound after Chile's major earthquake sparked concern over supplies.
