* Prices climb to 2,618 rgt in early trade, highest since Nov. 4 * Typhoon Haiyan sparks coconut oil shortage fears, shifts demand to palm -trader * Palm prices could climb to 2,800 by end-2013 if damage is severe -analyst * Palm oil biased to revisit Tuesday low of 2,506 ringgit -technicals By Anuradha Raghu KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose to a more-than-a-week high on Wednesday on prospects that a deadly typhoon in the Philippines would damage crops and halt exports of competing coconut oil, channelling demand to palm oil-based alternatives. The super typhoon Haiyan that wreaked havoc in central Philippines - one of the world's top coconut oil producers - could severely deplete coconut oil supply in the region as the country struggles to cope with rescue and relief efforts. Coconut oil traded as much as $240 up from Monday and about $90 up during the day, pushing up other competing vegetable oils, on concerns of the damage the typhoon has already inflicted to trees. Crude palm kernel oil PKO-MYSTH-M1 prices rose to 3,802.96 ringgit by Wednesday's midday break, up from 3,356,32 ringgit in the previous session, and from 3,191.18 ringgit on early Tuesday. "The weather-driven market is supporting not only palm oil, but the other vegetable oils as well," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage. "The situation in the Philippines has affected coconut oil supply, which pushed palm kernel oil up more than 150 ringgit per tonne," said the Kuala Lumpur-based trader. By the midday break, the benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had climbed 0.7 percent to 2,618 ringgit ($816) per tonne - the highest level since Nov. 4. Total traded volume stood at 10,270 lots of 25 tonnes each on Thursday, below the usual 12,500 lots. Technicals were a little bearish. Malaysian palm oil is biased to revisit its Tuesday low of 2,506 ringgit per tonne, as its correction from the Nov. 1 high of 2,632 ringgit does not seem to be complete, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. The shortage of coconut oil supply could hike crude palm kernel oil prices as buyers look for substitutes, analysts say, as both coconut oil and the palm product can be used as raw materials in the oleochemicals industry and to produce soap and cosmetics. "Crude palm oil prices may increase up to 2,800 ringgit by year-end if the supply damage turns out to be a full blown crisis, and assuming 25 percent of Philippine coconut oil supply is damaged," said Kenanga Investment Bank analyst Alan Lim. He added that Malaysian planters such as TSH Resources , Genting Plantations, and IJM Plantations would see a positive earnings impact if buyers switch to the crude palm oil. In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for December rose 0.22 percent in early Asian trade. The most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 1.0 percent. In other markets, Brent crude edged above $106 per barrel on Wednesday, recovering some lost ground after oil was hit by speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon start to reduce its monetary stimulus. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0601 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL NOV3 2600 +11.00 2590 2600 21 MY PALM OIL DEC3 2615 +18.00 2589 2615 401 MY PALM OIL JAN4 2618 +19.00 2590 2618 6214 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY4 6314 +132.00 6260 6326 813802 CHINA SOYOIL MAY4 7222 +74.00 7192 7236 638264 CBOT SOY OIL DEC3 40.85 +0.11 40.63 40.93 2932 NYMEX CRUDE DEC3 93.14 +0.10 92.93 93.30 5464 Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

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