UPDATE 9-Oil falls 3% as trade war concerns hit demand outlook

* Trade war worries put growth concerns back in focus
* Trump threatens more tariffs if China fails to act quickly
* Mideast tensions support oil; Iran captures another tanker

(Updates with settlement prices, adds commentary)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Global oil benchmark Brent
futures fell more than 3% on Monday on global growth concerns
after U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened China
with more tariffs, which could limit crude demand from the
world's two biggest buyers.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell $2.08, or 3.36%, to settle at
$59.81 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell
97 cents, or 1.74%, to settle at $54.69 a barrel, finding some
support from a draw in inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma,
storage hub and delivery hub for WTI.
Stocks at Cushing fell nearly 2.4 million barrels in the
week to Aug. 2, traders said, citing data from market
intelligence firm Genscape. WTI's discount to Brent
WTCLc1-LCOc1 narrowed to $5.15 a barrel, its narrowest since
July 2018.
Both crude benchmarks plummeted by more than 7% last
Thursday to their lowest level in about seven weeks after
Trump's announcement, before recovering somewhat to leave Brent
down 2.5% on the week and U.S. crude 1% lower.
Trade war worries hit global equities again on Monday, while
stoking a rally in safe-haven assets including the Japanese yen,
core government bonds and gold. MKTS/GLOB
"While latest trade headlines will be forcing downward
adjustment in global oil demand expectations for this year and
possibly next, it is looking quite likely that Asia will bear
the brunt of the expected slowing in oil demand growth," Jim
Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.
Trump last week said he would impose a 10% tariff on $300
billion of Chinese imports starting on Sept. 1 and said he could
raise duties further if China's President Xi Jinping failed to
move more quickly towards a trade deal. The announcement extends U.S. tariffs to nearly all imported
Chinese products. China on Friday vowed to fight back against
Trump's decision, a move that ended a month-long trade truce.
On Monday, China let the yuan tumble beyond the 7-per-dollar
level for the first time in more than a decade. A lower yuan raises the cost of dollar-denominated oil
imports in China, the world's biggest crude oil importer.
Signs of rising oil exports from the United States also
pressured prices on Monday. U.S. shipments surged by 260,000
barrels per day (bpd) in June to a monthly record of 3.16
million bpd, U.S. Census Bureau data showed on Friday.
Lending some support to prices, Iran's seizure of an Iraqi
oil tanker raised concerns about potential Middle East supply
disruptions in the Gulf. Iran will no longer tolerate "maritime offences" in the
Strait of Hormuz, its foreign minister said on Monday.