NEW YORK, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices continued to increase on Friday as report showed global oil demand has picked up.

The West Texas Intermediate for August Delivery added 0.46 dollar to settle at 46.54 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery gained 0.49 dollar to close at 48.91 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.