Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday as the West's negotiations with Iran about the OPEC member's nuclear program sparked concern that outweighed demand worries prompted by lackluster US economic data. US crude futures settled at $70.82 a barrel, up 21 cents. The previous session saw a rise of nearly $4, the biggest daily jump in dollar terms since April. London Brent crude settled 12 cents higher at $69.19 a barrel. “The Iran factor (was) pumping up the risk premium ...whenever you talk about Iran, you're going to get a mixed interpretation of what's going on,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president, Ritterbusch & Associates, Galena, Illinois. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 203.00 points (2.09 percent) to 9,509.28 while Nasdaq composite slumped 64.94 points (3.06 percent) to 2,057.48. Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 27.23 points (2.58 percent) to 1,029.85.
