LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Northwest European diesel barge profit margins held steady at about $16.40 a barrel on Monday, as export opportunities to the region remained limited.

• No cargoes changed hands in the northwest European or Mediterranean regions.

• The European distillate market has been getting some support from unfavourable arbitrage economics from Asia, traders said.

• EU and UK diesel and gasoil imports are on track to reach 1.03 million barrels per day this month, down from, 1.26 million bpd in October, Kpler data show.

• The first rise in weekly U.S. distillate inventories in two months is limiting gains on diesel profit margins, Sparta Commodities analyst Neil Crosby said.

• "The upcoming week is expected to remain mostly dry, with only minimal precipitation in the forecast," brokers Riverlake said. "As a result, water levels on the Rhine will likely remain stable". Barges in the upper Rhine are currently able to carry 1,314 metric tons, they said.

• Indian Oil Corp's IOC.NS Gujarat refinery operations were unaffected after a benzene storage tank caught fire, India's top refiner said in a statement.

• U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 557,000 bpd of capacity offline in the week ending Nov. 15, raising available refining capacity by 85,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said on Monday.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

((Ahmad.Ghaddar@thomsonreuters.com; +442075424435; Reuters Messaging: ahmad.ghaddar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))