Oil prices were lower in Asian trade amid expectations the weekly US inventories report due out in later in the day will show another rise in distillate stocks, dealers said. At 12.45 pm (0445) GMT, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, was at 58.85 usd a barrel, down 35 cents from its close of 59.20 usd in US trading overnight. Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with US energy consultancy firm Purvin and Gertz, said prices were trading lower within a tight range ahead of the US Department of Energy's stock report. The market is anticipating a fall in US crude inventories caused by the recent hurricanes that have disrupted production at oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, a key supply region for the United States. However, analysts are also predicting a 10th consecutive weekly rise in stocks of distillates, including heating fuel and diesel, easing supply concerns for the fourth quarter during the northern hemisphere winter. "Crude stocks falling are not a concern for the market because crude inventory levels are above five-year averages," Shum said. "The market remains bearish (lower for prices) in the short term primarily because expectations that distillate inventories in the United States continue to build."