Oil prices slide 4% on concerns of slowing demand, equity rally caps losses

Oil prices resumed their slide on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropping more than 4% after U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly surged.

Brent futures were down $1.77, or 2.9% at $60.20 a barrel by 10:54 a.m. EDT (1454 GMT), having briefly traded in positive territory early in the session. WTI was down $2.17, or 4%, at $51.31 a barrel.U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose 6.8 million barrels in the week to May 31, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 849,000 barrels.