Oil prices edged back closer to 60 usd a barrel in Asian trade as traders returned to the market on expectations US crude inventories to be released this week would show a fall, dealers said. They said the shutdown of oil refineries on the US Gulf Coast ahead of the onslaught of Hurricane Dennis will likely have reduced the stockpile figures. The US Department of Energy will release the closely watched inventory data on Wednesday. At 12.15 pm (0415 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August was at 59.33 usd a barrel, up 41 cents from its close of 58.92 usd in the US overnight. Prices fell 71 cents in New York after Dennis spared US drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico while wreaking a trail of death and destruction elsewhere in the region. Workers for oil giants BP and Royal Dutch/Shell began returning to their platforms after the onset of the hurricane had led to a mass evacuation. "(The price rise in Asian trade) reflects what traders are thinking about the inventory reports that will come out on Wednesday in the United States," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based partner with US energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz. "Traders generally expect lower inventory levels for crude and even for gasoline so the market is trying to get back some of the losses (of Monday), expecting the report (to) show smaller inventories." Shum said it was possible prices could jump back to 60 usd and beyond this week as global demand for energy remains strong amid tight supply.