Oil prices retreated in Asian trade on speculation the US would release its emergency stockpiles to cover production lost in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, dealers said. At 12.10 pm (0410 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was down 18 cents at 65.29 usd a barrel from its close of 65.47 in US trading overnight. Dealers said the decline was a snap reaction to comments made by US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who on Monday said the US was "prepared to do what is necessary with strategic reserves". "The market is simply reacting to easing concerns about supply after the US comments ... it's not a reversal in the prevailing trend," said Victor Shum, an analyst at US energy consultancy firm Purvin and Gertz in Singapore. Uncertainty about the ability of US refineries to produce enough heating oil for the winter months ahead also helped set the tone for the market. "The futures market is a holding pattern for now, and it probably will be until clear news of when exactly US gulf production is coming back emerges," said Dave Ernsberger, a director at US energy information provider Platts in Singapore. A US congressional committee on Friday heard that 12 refineries accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country's oil-processing capacity remained shut down in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Crude production in the Gulf of Mexico is still almost fully offline following the hurricanes, according to the US Minerals Management Service, while 75 pct of natural gas production is shut down. The US government launched a campaign Monday urging households and businesses to make more efficient use of energy, a week after US President George W. Bush appealed to Americans to conserve energy, notably by driving less.