SINGAPORE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Asian gasoil margins slipped below the $19-barrel mark on Thursday as demand waned from China amid a slowing economy.     The October diesel crack fell 53 cents to $18.86 a barrel above Dubai crude, the lowest in nearly two weeks, Reuters data showed.      China is not expected to import diesel for domestic use for the rest of the year due to weak demand and high inventory, industry sources said.      China's top refiner Sinopec Corp  
  0386.HK
   is exporting about 60,000 tonnes of diesel a month, two Asia-based traders said, after it made its first significant export in six months in June.  
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        This is in sharp contrast to last year when Chinese refiners started making enquiries around this time and imported more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel for November and December, one of the biggest purchases of the year for domestic use.      "Demand in China is not good at all, so it doesn't look like state-owned companies will be importing much this year," said a source at a company that imports diesel into China.   
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       Separately, Sinopec has ordered the closure of three plants, including two refineries with a combined crude processing capacity of 370,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), in the southern province of Guangdong for environmental checks.     Sinopec did not specify the problems at the plants or the length of the shutdown. But industry sources said the impact of the closure in the market is likely to be minimal as diesel demand is currently quite weak.  
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       PetroChina should also have ample inventory to fill supply gaps, one of the sources said.     Australia's imports of diesel continued to be robust with the country importing nearly 134,000 tonnes from Singapore in the week ended Sept. 26, up about 30 percent from a week ago, data from International Enterprise showed.     Overall imports for September into Australia from Singapore  is also to be up by nearly 30 percent from August, the data showed, likely due to the closure of Shell's Clyde refinery and an ongoing maintenance at Kurnell refinery.      In the jet fuel market, Bahrain Petroleum Corp re-issued a cargo for November loading after earlier cancelling the tender due to low bids and supply issues at its refinery.      This could likely ease prices further as arbitrage economics to send the product west is still lacklustre.      Meanwhile, passenger traffic in Asia continued to grow with Asia Pacific airlines carrying a total of 18.5 million international passengers in August, up 6.8 percent from the previous month, data from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines showed.      Air freight markets, however, remain depressed, as a result of weakening consumer confidence in the major developed economies leading to a corresponding slowdown in exports from Asia, the association said.      * TENDERS: Ceylon Petroleum Corp is seeking a combination cargo of 110,000 barrels of 0.25 percent sulphur gasoil and 200,000 barrels of jet fuel for Oct. 27-28 delivery. The tender closes on Oct. 2, with up to 72-hours validity.     - Bapco has offered 60,000 tonnes of jet fuel for Nov. 9-12 loading. The tender closes on Sept. 27.             * SINGAPORE CASH DEALS: No jet deals, two gasoil trades.     - Shell bought 150,000 barrels of 10 ppm sulphur diesel for Oct. 12-16 loading from Vitol at a premium of $4.20 a barrel above Singapore quotes.     - Total bought 150,000 barrels of 0.5 percent sulphur gasoil from BP for Oct. 23-27 loading at a premium of 60 cents a barrel above the average of Oct 22-29 Singapore quotes.          MID-DISTILLATES                                                                      CASH ($/T)          ASIA CLOSE       Change   % Change   Prev      RIC                                                           Close       Spot Gas Oil 0.5%            126.79     0.18       0.14    126.61   
  GO-SIN
    GO 0.5 Diff                    0.56     0.00       0.00      0.56   
  GO-SIN-DIF
    Spot Gas Oil 0.25%           128.34     0.18       0.14    128.16   
  GO25-SIN
    GO 0.25 Diff                   2.10     0.00       0.00      2.10   
  GO25-SIN-DIF
    Spot Gas Oil 0.05%           129.39     0.18       0.14    129.21   
  GO005-SIN
    GO 0.05 Diff                   3.15     0.00       0.00      3.15   
  GO005-SIN-DIF
    Spot Gas Oil                 130.39    -0.07      -0.05    130.46   
  GO10-SIN
    0.001%                                                               GO 0.001 Diff                  4.16    -0.25      -5.67      4.41   
  GO10-SIN-DIF
    Spot Jet/Kero                128.93     0.41       0.32    128.52   
  JET-SIN
    Jet/Kero Diff                  1.15     0.05       4.55      1.10   
  JET-SIN-DIF
                                                                                         SWAPS  ($/T)        ASIA CLOSE       Change   % Change   Prev      PM (1130 GMT)                      (0830 GMT)                           Close       Brent M1                     110.39     0.80       0.73    109.59   
  BRENTSGMc1
    Gasoil M1                    126.30     0.20       0.16    126.10   
  GOSGSWMc1
    Gasoil M1/M2                   0.48     0.05      11.63      0.43   
  GOSGSPDMc1
    Gasoil M2                    125.82     0.15       0.12    125.67   
  GOSGSWMc2
    Regrade M1                     1.60     0.21      15.11      1.39   
  JETREGSGMc1
    Regrade M2                     1.18     0.09       8.26      1.09   
  JETREGSGMc2
    Jet M1                       127.90     0.41       0.32    127.49   
  JETSGSWMc1
    Jet M1/M2                      0.90     0.17      23.29      0.73   
  JETSGSPDMc1
    Jet M2                       127.00     0.24       0.19    126.76   
  JETSGSWMc2
    Gasoil 0.5%-Dubai             18.86    -0.53      -2.73     19.39   
  GOSGCKMc1
    Cracks M1                                                            Gasoil 0.5%-Dubai             18.93    -0.59      -3.02     19.52   
  GOSGCKMc2
    Cracks M2                                                            Jet Cracks M1                 20.46    -0.32      -1.54     20.78   
  JETSGCKMc1
    Jet Cracks M2                 20.11    -0.50      -2.43     20.61   
  JETSGCKMc2
    East-West M1                 -29.57    -1.51       5.38    -28.06   
  LGOAEFSMc1
    East-West M2                 -27.02    -1.89       7.52    -25.13   
  LGOAEFSMc2
    LGO M1                       970.50     3.00       0.31    967.50   
  LGOAMc1
    LGO M1/M2                      6.13     0.00       0.00      6.13   
  LGOASPDMc1
    LGO M2                       964.38     3.00       0.31    961.38   
  LGOAMc2
    Crack LGO-Brent M1            19.06    -0.39      -2.01     19.45   
  LGOACKMc1
    Crack LGO-Brent M2            18.78    -0.31      -1.62     19.09   
  LGOACKMc2
      (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; editing by James Jukwey)  ((jessica.jaganathan@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3822)(Reuters Messaging: jessica.jaganathan.reuters.com@reuters.net))  Keywords: MARKETS DISTILLATES/ASIA