Oil prices struck $108 today, as Libyan production was hit by violent protests and concerns grew over spreading unrest in the strategic crude-producing Middle East and North Africa region. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April surged to $108.57 a barrel, the highest level since September 2008, before pulling back to $107.28, up $1.54 from yesterday's closing level. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March, known as West Texas intermediate, hit $94.49 and later stood at $93.50, up $7.30 from Friday. US markets were shut yesterday for a public holiday. Analysts said that the market remains very jittery, trading on sentiment and rumour, while fears for Libya are added by concerns of unrest spreading to other states like Algeria and even Saudi Arabia - though this is unlikely. 'The market is reacting to violence in the Middle East and not to fundamentals,' United Arab Emirates energy minister Mohammad bin Dhaen al-Hamli said today, on the sidelines of a producer-consumer meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh. 'We (OPEC) are watching the situation and ready to act when necessary,' said Hamli, who declined to be drawn on when it will be time for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to intervene. Hamli said OPEC was concerned about the developments in Libya 'because it is a member of OPEC and a major oil producer.' Libya is the first major oil exporter to be engulfed by the crisis and the first to see any significant disruption to oil production. Much of Libya's oil industry is offshore and should be relatively easy for government forces to secure. But one major oilfield has already been shut down by industrial action in support of the protests and others have been threatened, analysts said.