World crude oil prices rebounded Wednesday as U.S. gasoline reserves improved.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, rose 58 cents to close at 69.14 dollars a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery added six cents to 66.98 dollars a barrel.U.S. Energy Department reported Wednesday that gasoline reserves, which are closely watched as Americans take to the roads for summer holidays, rose by 2.8 million barrels last week to 213.1 million.

The country's commercial crude oil supplies fell by 900,000 barrels to 345.7 million barrels last week, well above the upper end of the average range for this time of year, according to the department's weekly inventories report.

Stockpiles of distillates, including diesel and heating oil, were also up by 2.1 million barrels to 122.8 million last week.

The report also showed that U.S. refineries operated at 92.7 percent capacity last week, up from 91 percent in the prior week.

Source: Xinhua