NEW YORK, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices ended higher on Wednesday as government data showed U.S. gasoline inventories declined last week.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday in its weekly report that U.S. gasoline stockpiles erased 894,000 barrels in the week to June 23, compared with analysts' expectations for a 583,000-barrel drop.

The West Texas Intermediate for August Delivery added 0.50 dollars to settle at 44.74 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery gained 0.66 dollars to close at 47.31 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.