Oil futures settled sharply lower Tuesday as pre-holiday profit-taking exacerbated downward pressure stemming from emboldened demand growth concerns. NYMEX August WTI settled down $2.84 at $56.25/b and ICE September Brent was $2.66 lower at $62.40/b at market close. “It looks like people are throwing in the towel ahead of the holiday,” Price Futures Group senior market analysts Phil Flynn said. “There is a lot of talk that the market is concerned about slowing demand, that the market is disappointed that OPEC didn’t agree to a bigger production cut, and some concern that as soon as we get past one trade war with China, we immediately start another trade war with Europe.” Crude prices came under pressure overnight after Washington threatened to levy tariffs on up to $4 billion of EU goods. But prices turned […]