SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Asian middle distillates cracks gained about 60 cents a barrel on Friday as arbitrage economics to send diesel and jet fuel to the west looked profitable. At the Asian trading close the November gas oil crack increased 68 cents to $16.46 a barrel while the jet crack was up 61 cents to $18.64 a barrel above Dubai prices. The exchange of futures for swaps (EFS) fell $4.48 to minus $27.49 a tonne, recovering slightly from below minus $30 a tonne offered in the over-the-counter market. With prices of diesel in northwest Europe strong on low stocks, refinery cuts and maintenance, it has now become profitable to send cargoes from Asia, they said. The lack of supply has been making prices of diesel contracts loading in the front month stronger than the further forward months. "The ICE backwardation is really strong so the arbitrage looks open now for jet and 10 ppm sulphur gas oil," a middle distillates trader in Singapore said, referring to the economics of sending middle distillates from the east. Despite workable economics, one limitation of sending physical cargoes is the stringent winter specifications required by Europe, in particular France, for the 10 ppm sulphur diesel, traders said. "Only a few refiners in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore can meet their specs as a lot of the 10 ppm produced in Asia are more compatible with the Australian specs," said a middle distillates trader who frequently moves arbitrage cargoes. Many of the lower sulphur diesel arbitrage cargoes are shipped to France first as the country allows more trading flexibility, they said. KEROSENE DEMAND FIRMS Seasonal end of year demand for kerosene is setting in as North Asia crosses over to winter, traders said. This might place pressure on gas oil prices with supply possibly affected after South Korean and Japanese refiners start to maximise kerosene production, a Singapore-based trader said. "Kerosene demand from China should be going up too which will put pressure on prices," he said. In India, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals sold 40,000 tonnes of 0.5 percent sulphur gas oil to Vitol at a premium of about $1.30 a barrel to Middle East quotes, trading sources said. With MRPL remaining as one of the few suppliers of the high sulphur gas oil to the Middle East, prices for the grade had firmed in recent weeks, they said. MRPL last sold 40,000 tonnes of 0.25 percent sulphur gas oil to Trafigura at a premium of about $1.50 a barrel to Middle East quotes. * SWAPS OUTRIGHTS: Gas oil's October and November swaps climbed by $2.15 and $1.94 to $122.30 and $121.43 a barrel respectively. - Jet fuel swaps for October increased $1.76 to $123.81, while the October regrade, or the difference between jet and diesel prices, fell 39 cents to $1.51 a barrel. * CRACKS: Gas oil's crack for November increased by 68 cents to $16.46 a barrel over Dubai crude. - Jet fuel's November crack was up 61 cents to $18.64 a barrel. EAST-WEST SPREADS: The exchange of futures for swaps or EFS for October was down $4.48 to minus $27.49 a tonne. * CASH DIFFERENTIALS: The premiums for the 0.5 percent and 0.25 percent sulphur gas oil grades fell slightly by 3-5 cents to 30 cents and $1.05 a barrel respectively. The jet fuel differential remained unchanged at 10 cents a barrel. * PHYSICAL OUTRIGHTS: Benchmark diesel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 percent was up $1.99 to $122.10 a barrel, while jet fuel was up by $1.80 to $123.80 a barrel. * TENDER: No new tenders issued. * CASH DEALS: No jet deal, two gas oil deals. - Hin Leong sold 150,000 barrels of 10 ppm sulphur gas oil to BP for Nov. 5-9 loading at a premium of $2.80 a barrel above the average prices of Nov. 4-11 quotes. - Shell sold 150,000 barrels of 0.5 percent sulphur gas oil to Hin Leong at a premium of 40 cents a barrel over Singapore benchmark quotes. MIDDLE CURR PRODUCT RIC BID ASK MEAN PREV CHG % CHG Jet/Kero JET-SIN 123.60 124.00 123.80 122.00 1.80 1.48 Gas Oil 0.5% GO-SIN 121.90 122.30 122.10 120.11 1.99 1.66 Gas Oil 0.25% GO25-SIN 122.65 123.05 122.85 120.88 1.97 1.63 Gas Oil 0.05% GO005-SIN 123.30 123.70 123.50 121.48 2.02 1.66 Jet/Kero Diff JET-SIN-DIF 0.00 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.00 0.00 GO 0.005 Diff GO005-SIN-DIF 1.60 1.80 1.70 1.70 0.00 0.00 GO 0.25 Diff GO25-SIN-DIF 0.95 1.15 1.05 1.10 -0.05 -4.55 GO 0.5 Diff GO-SIN-DIF 0.20 0.40 0.30 0.33 -0.03 -9.09 GO Swap M1 GOSGSWMc1 122.30 120.15 2.15 1.79 GO Swap M2 GOSGSWMc2 121.43 119.49 1.94 1.62 (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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