Oil prices slide on US, China strains

World oil prices slid this week, dragged lower by a supply glut and weak crude demand against a backdrop of economic strains in key consumers China and the United States. "Commodity prices have given back some of the previous week's gains, due in part to some mixed signals from the US and Chinese economies," said research group Capital Economics. "Oil prices have fallen back... as supply remains abundant," they added in a note to clients.