Oil prices have dropped due to reports of an increase in US inventories helping nullify the impact of an output cut by OPEC and other prominent producers.

Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 and US light crude CLc1 fell by 40 cents and were trading at $55.04 per barrel and $52.78 respectively, reported Reuters.

American Petroleum Institute (API) released its weekly inventory data that revealed that US stock of crude, gasoline and diesel increased more than estimated.

Official figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later.

"This output cut could prove ineffective in bolstering prices if the US continues to increase production."

Oil prices began to increase after OPEC members and other key producers started production cuts at the beginning of this year.

However, this output cut could prove ineffective in bolstering prices if the US continues to increase production.

From mid-2016, oil production in the US grew by nearly 6%.

New US President Donald Trump also promised to support the domestic oil industry, forcing trade analysts to revise their predictions for 2017.

According to Goldman Sachs, a new border-adjusted corporate tax currently presented before the US House of Representatives could boost production.