Oil prices slipped toward the $21-per-barrel mark,...

Oil prices slipped toward the $21-per-barrel mark, extending the market’s recent correction to three days. Analysts said activity on the New York Mercantile Exchange was light as traders awaited further developments in the Middle East. Contracts for September delivery of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude, settled at $21.14 per 42-gallon barrel, down 15 cents from Wednesday’s close. The bellwether contract lost 87 cents in the previous two sessions as speculators rushed to dump contracts purchased Monday at the peak of concern over Middle East tensions.