Oil slips as U.S. stocks rise, but hopes for U.S.-China trade deal stem losses

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil eased on Wednesday following an industry report showing a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles, but hopes surrounding the signing of the first phase of a U.S.-China trade deal prevented a bigger drop in prices. Brent crude futures dropped 15 cents, or 0.23%, to $64.12 a barrel by 0421 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.27%, to $58.25 per barrel.Wednesday's decline reversed two days of gains, with WTI climbing 1.1% through..