KUALA LUMPUR (June 21): Malaysian palm oil futures were set for a fourth straight day of losses on Thursday, as weak sentiment persisted due to concerns about a trade war between China and the U.S. and on losses in U.S. soyoil.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.2 percent at 2,257 ringgit ($562.84) per tonne at the midday break.

Trading volumes stood at 21,518 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon. <1FCPO-TOT>

"The palm market is taking a breather after the massive sell-offs in China markets... but overall market sentiment is still negative," said a Singapore-based trader. 

Palm oil had seen sharp declines earlier in the week, falling as much as 3 percent to two-year lows on Tuesday, tracking related edible oils on the U.S. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and China's Dalian Commodity Exchange.

Prices of commodities in China tumbled as investor sentiment was shaken by an intensifying trade war between Beijing and Washington.

Another trader added that palm also declined tracking weaker CBOT soyoil. The Chicago July soybean oil contract was last down 0.7 percent on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the September soybean oil on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange edged up 0.1 percent, while the Dalian September palm oil contract rose 1.3 percent.

Palm oil prices track the performance of other edible oils, as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.