LONDON: Global oil prices slid on Wednesday as traders awaited the latest inventories report from leading world consumer the United States.
In London early afternoon deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June dipped 32 cents to $102.28 a barrel.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for June, shed $1.19 to $93.02 a barrel.
The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) will later publish its weekly snapshot of crude stockpiles.
The oil market was sent plunging last week after the EIA had revealed that American crude stocks were at their highest level since 1982, indicating that production was outstripping demand.
Meanwhile, crude futures had fallen on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency said the output boom in North America was sending a "supply shock" across the world.
The International Energy Agency fuelled bearish sentiment in a report predicting growing crude oil supply through 2018, led by North America, that would outstrip demand.
The IEA raised marginally its outlook for global demand growth in 2013 to 90.6 million barrels per day (bpd).
The IEA hiked its forecast for non-OPEC supply in 2013 by 50,000 barrels to 54.5 million bpd owing to the projected strong output in North America.
"The supply shock created by a surge in North American oil production will be as transformative to the market over the next five years as was the rise of Chinese demand over the last 15," the IEA said.
"North America has set off a supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world," said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven while presenting the agency's five-year outlook for the oil market.
Oil prices had also retreated Monday on fresh signs of economic weakness in China -- the world's largest energy consumer -- and also remained under pressure by brimming US stockpiles.
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