Oil prices held steady below $60 on Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather dampened demand for heating oil and was expected to lead to a rise in U.S. fuel stocks. U.S. light crude oil traded up 3 cents at $59.50 a barrel by 0455 GMT, after a $1.11 drop on Monday. London Brent crude was at $58.10, up six cents. U.S. demand for heating oil was expected to be about 42 percent below normal this week as temperatures remain mild in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest oil consuming region, the U.S. National Weather Service said on Monday. "The market is focusing on weather, which is softening product demand everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, not just the U.S. Northeast," said Naohiro Niimura, vice president at the derivatives unit at Mizuho Corporate Bank in Tokyo. In Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer where demand for heating can soar in winter months, the weather was expected to remain normal or warmer than normal in most areas for the next two weeks. Expected rises in U.S. oil inventories are also weighing on prices. Market sentiment has reversed after fears over product shortages in the wake of hurricane disruptions to U.S. production helped drive prices to a record $70.85 in late August.