UPDATE 1-Turkish refiner Tupras Jan-Oct exports slide

* 10-month exports drop 50 percent to 2.8 million tonnes

* Capacity usage 61 percent

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ISTANBUL, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Tupras (TUPRS.IS), Turkey's sole oil refiner, said on Wednesday exports halved to 2.8 million tonnes in the first 10 months of the year amid the global economic slowdown.

Domestic sales fell 9 percent to 18.2 million tonnes, Chief Executive Yavuz Erkut said in an e-mailed statement.

Crude oil refined at Kocaeli, Turkey-based Tupras fell 32 percent to 14.3 million tonnes in the 10 months to October, he said. Capacity usage was 61 percent, compared to about 90 percent over the last five years.

"After the financial crisis and as markets recover, Tupras will return to full capacity. Foreign and domestic markets are being carefully monitored, and the market is expected to improve in 2010, with a full recovery in 2011," Erkut said, according to the statement.

Tupras imported 5.1 million tonnes of intermediary or final products to cover domestic needs in the January-to-October period, Erkut added.

Mediterranean refining margins were at their narrowest in years, as demand for refined products remains sluggish while crude prices rise, Erkut said.

U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 have climbed 92 percent this year, but still trade at about half of the record high they reached in July 2008.

Tupras shares fell 3.81 percent to 25.25 lira. Koc Holding (KCHOL.IS) owns a 51 percent stake in Tupras. (Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Keiron Henderson)