Oil prices have dropped due to investors being worried that proposals to cut production may not happen.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 58 cents to $39.69 a barrel, while the US crude CLc1 edged down 47 cents to $38.92, Reuters reported.

Since mid-February, oil prices increased have risen by 45% ahead of an April meeting between Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major suppliers, including Russia, in Doha to discuss freezing output.

"The market really wants to see some action."

The proposal was aimed at strengthening oil prices.

Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen told the news agency: "The amount of verbal intervention, which has obviously helped the market greatly over the past two months, combined with a production slowdown in the US, has probably taken (oil) as far as it can, now the market really wants to see some action."

A preliminary survey by the news agency revealed that commercial crude oil inventories in the US were expected to have increased, while refined product inventories fell slightly.

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Net flows into commodities totalled more than $20bn in January-February, Barclays said.