Oil prices edged higher Thursday as the market assessed weak economic data and "constructive" talks between Iran and world powers over Tehran's sensitive nuclear program.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery rose 21 cents to close at 70.82 dollars a barrel, a day after soaring nearly four dollars.

London's Brent North Sea crude for November traded 12 cents higher to settle at 69.19 dollars a barrel.

"Today's meeting was a constructive beginning but it must be followed with constructive action by the Iranian government," US President Barack Obama said in a statement at the White House on the nuclear talks Thursday between Iran and six powers.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the talks between the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany and his country in Geneva were held in a "constructive" atmosphere.

Tensions had run high before the talks after Iran, the third biggest global oil exporter after Russia and Saudi Arabia, test-fired long-range missiles that it said could reach targets inside Israel.

Despite the higher oil prices, the market remain concerned over signals of a difficult economic recovery in the United States, traders said.

New claims for US unemployment benefits rose in the week to September 26 by 17,000 to 551,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 534,000, the department said.

Other data offered a mixed picture of an economy struggling to emerge from recession.

The Commerce Department reported US household spending jumped 1.3 percent in August, driven by auto sales helped by the "cash for clunkers" incentives.

The rise in spending came as incomes rose 0.2 percent in the month.

A survey of the US manufacturing sector meanwhile showed growth for the second consecutive month in September but at a slower pace.

The Institute of Supply Management said its index of the factory sector, also known as the purchasing managers index, fell to 52.6 percent from 52.9 percent in August. Any number above 50 indicates growth.

Oil demand plunged after the global economy slipped late last year into its worst recession since the 1930s.

This sent oil prices tumbling from historic highs of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to around 32 dollars in December. Prices have since recovered but investors remain concerned over the pace of the upturn.

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