Oil prices slide in Asian trade

Oil prices slipped in Asian trade today after a plunge in US stocks and weak retail sales in the world's biggest economy cut short a nascent rally, analysts said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, fell 29 cents to $57.73 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery dropped eight cents to $57.26. The June contract expires later today.

US stocks took a beating yesterday as a weak report on US retail sales dampened hopes for a quick economic recovery from the recession, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 184.22 points, or 2.18 per cent.

Retail sales, a key economic driver for the US economy, fell 0.4 per cent in April, the Commerce Department said, in a report showing ongoing caution among US consumers during the recession.

The report dampened hopes for a speedy rebound, since consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity, analysts said.

Tentative signs that the struggling US economy may have hit the bottom drove a recent oil market rally that brought prices to six-month highs of more than $60 a barrel.

"April's US retail sales figures are yet another illustration that, although the worst is now over, there is still no evidence of an actual recovery," said research house Capital Economics.