Oil prices fall after US suggests talks with Iran

Oil prices extended losses Thursday, a day after declining on news that the United States had signaled a willingness to hold direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program. Light sweet crude for July delivery was down 36 cents to US $70.93 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore. It had closed Wednesday at US $71.29, a drop of 74 cents.