Oil prices slide as dollar soars

In late morning deals, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for May delivery, dropped US$1.09 to US$80.82 a barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for May shed US$1.11 to US$79.59.

“The correlation between oil and the dollar has strengthened over the past few weeks,” said ANZ bank analyst Serene Lim.

The strengthening greenback makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies, denting demand.

Later Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy will release its weekly inventory report for the week ending March 19.

Market expectations are for an increase in crude oil stocks of 1.3 million barrels, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Oil prices advanced to near US$82 Tuesday, lifted by gains in the U.S. stock markets after a report from the National Association of Realtors showed existing-home sales fell less-than-expected in February.

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