SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmark DME Oman on Thursday flipped to a premium to Dubai quotes for the first time since July, supported by buying interest from Asian refiners including those in China and Japan.

The Oman differential rose to a premium of 19 cents a barrel at the Singapore market's close, up from a discount of 3 cents a barrel at Wednesday's close, trade data compiled by Reuters showed.

In the spot market, Japan's Fuji Oil on Thursday bought 500,000 barrels of December-loading Oman crude via a tender at a small premium to Dubai quotes, a trade source said. The refiner last week bought 500,000 barrels of Oman crude at a spot discount to Dubai.

(Reporting by Shu Zhang and Florence Tan; Editing by Mark Potter) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))