NEW YORK, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices continued to surge on Wednesday as data showed U.S. inventories fell more than expected last week.

The West Texas Intermediate for September Delivery added 0.86 dollar to settle at 48.75 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery gained 0.75 dollar to close at 50.97 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.