UPDATE 6-Oil back in positive territory ahead of U.S.-China trade deal

* U.S.-China trade deal due to be signed on Wednesday
* U.S. crude oil inventories likely to have fallen last week
-poll
* Chinese 2019 oil imports up 9.5% from 2018 -customs data
* Coming up: API inventory data at 2130 GMT

(Updates prices)
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Global oil benchmark Brent crude
rose to more than $64.50, recovering from four days of declines
on easing Middle East tensions, as the United States and China
prepared to sign a preliminary trade deal.
Brent crude LCOc1 gained 43 cents, or 0.7%, to $64.63 a
barrel by 1507 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures
CLc1 rose 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $58.20 a barrel.
The outlook for oil demand was supported by the expected
signing of a Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal on Wednesday, marking
a major step in ending a dispute that has cut global growth and
dented demand for oil.
China has pledged to buy more than $50 billion in energy
supplies from the United States over the next two years,
according to a source briefed on the trade deal. The trade war between the world's two biggest energy
consumers had a tangible impact on global oil demand growth last
year, said Tamas Varga, an analyst at broker PVM. Varga pointed
to 2019 demand growth of 890,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared
with initial forecasts of 1.5 million bpd.
"This year, however, the pace is expected to pick up again
and average 1.25 million bpd ... In the event of a trade deal
upward revisions can be anticipated," Varga said.
Regardless of trade wars, China's crude oil imports in 2019
surged 9.5% from the previous year, setting a record for a 17th
straight year as demand growth from new refineries propelled
purchases by the world's top importer, data showed. gains were limited by easing concern over possible
supply disruptions as a result of tensions in the Middle East.
The recent declines came as investors unwound bullish
positions built after the killing of a senior Iranian general in
a U.S. air strike on Jan. 2, which sent oil prices to a
four-month high, said Harry Tchilinguirian, global oil
strategist at BNP Paribas in London.
"As geopolitical tensions take a back seat for now, we may
see more of the same in the short term," Tchilinguirian told the
Reuters Global Oil Forum.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman,
said his country will work for oil market stability at a time
of heightened U.S.-Iranian tension. He also said it was too early to talk about whether the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its
allies, a group known as OPEC+, would continue with production
curbs that are due to expire in March.
Separately, U.S. crude oil inventories were expected to have
fallen last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
The poll was conducted ahead of reports from the American
Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, and the Energy
Information Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of
Energy. (Additional reporting By Jessica Jaganathan
Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman)