Asian refining margins for benchmark 10 ppm gasoil and jet fuel climbed to more than one-month highs on Tuesday amid limited inventories and few signs so far that the new Omicron variant is significantly denting demand. A surge in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant will dent global demand for oil, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, but the broader picture is one of increasing output set to top demand this month and soar next year. read more "The surge in new COVID-19 cases is expected to temporarily slow, but not upend the recovery in oil demand that is underway," Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil report. The gain in refining margins also came as oil prices dipped towards $74 a barrel on Tuesday. Refining margins for 10 ppm gasoil climbed to $14.07 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, up from $13.62 in the previous session and the highest since Nov. 10, Refinitiv data on Eikon showed. Similarly, the front-month jet fuel crack rose to a more than two-month low of $12.17 a barrel above Dubai crude, down from $11.72 on Monday. Jet margins were also supported by expectations that the winter peak demand for heating in the region will support demand. Both refining margins sank to about three-month lows in late-November as traders anticipated the Omicron variant would hurt demand for both middle distillate fuels. OTHER NEWS - Major Chinese manufacturing province Zhejiang is fighting its first COVID-19 cluster this year, with tens of thousands of citizens in quarantine and virus-hit areas suspending business operations, cutting flights and cancelling events. read more - OPEC on Monday raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 and stuck to its timeline for a return to pre-pandemic levels of oil use, saying the Omicron coronavirus variant would have a mild and brief impact. read more SINGAPORE CASH DEALS - One jet fuel trade, none on gasoil. ASSESSMENTS MID-DISTILLATES CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev Close RIC Spot Gas Oil 0.5% 85.42 -0.47 -0.55 85.89 GO 0.5 Diff -1.11 -0.05 4.72 -1.06 Spot Gas Oil 0.25% 85.63 -0.44 -0.51 86.07 GO 0.25 Diff -0.90 -0.02 2.27 -0.88 Spot Gas Oil 0.05% 86.03 -0.45 -0.52 86.48 GO 0.05 Diff -0.50 -0.03 6.38 -0.47 Spot Gas Oil 0.001% 87.13 -0.52 -0.59 87.65 GO 0.001 Diff 0.60 -0.10 -14.29 0.70 Spot Jet/Kero 85.08 -0.15 -0.18 85.23 Jet/Kero Diff 0.50 0.18 56.25 0.32 For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1 Gasoil M1 Gasoil M1/M2 Gasoil M2 Regrade M1 Regrade M2 Jet M1 Jet M1/M2 Jet M2 Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M1 Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M2 Jet Cracks M1 Jet Cracks M2 East-West M1 East-West M2 LGO M1 LGO M1/M2 LGO M2 Crack LGO-Brent M1 Crack LGO-Brent M2 Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.