Investing.com -- Crude futures rose considerably, amid a weaker dollar, as investors awaited the close of polls in the historic Brexit referendum on Thursday evening in the U.K.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for August delivery traded between $49.12 and $50.14 a barrel before closing at $50.13, up 0.99 or 2.02% on the session. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for August delivery wavered between $49.81 and $50.95 a barrel, before settling at $50.94, up 1.06 or 2.11% on the day. Crude futures used a late rally to close near session-highs.
Meanwhile, the spread between the international and U.S. benchmarks of crude stood at $0.81, slightly above/below Wednesday's level of $0.77 at the close of trading.
As polls in Britain on the U.K.'s potential departure from the European Union remained virtually deadlocked, investors braced for a long, dramatic night before the official results are released at some point on Friday morning. Complicating matters, torrential downpours in London threatened turnout possibly limiting volume among key undecided voters. Regardless, officials from G7 nations have devised comprehensive contingency plans to calm markets on Friday in the event that the "Leave" campaign prevails. Although major media outlets such as the BBC, ITV (LON:ITV) and SKY TV are prohibited from reporting the results of exit polls, market indications seem to show that voters have tilted toward the Remain camp. The FTSE 100 closed at 6,338.10, up more than 1.2% for the session, while GBP/USD eclipsed 1.49 on Thursday, reaching its highest level since Christmas Day.
A vote paving the way for the U.K. to leave the European Union could weigh on the earnings of leading energy companies if travel arrangements become more expensive for oil workers abroad. Some economists also fear a Brexit could tip the euro zone into recession, dampening demand for oil.
Elsewhere, investors continued to digest a lower than expected U.S. inventory draw last week which briefly pushed brent futures below $50 a barrel over the previous session. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that crude inventories fell by 0.9 million barrels last week for the week ending on June 17, defying expectations for a 5.22 million barrel draw by the American Petroleum Institute. Meanwhile, crude production fell by 39,000 barrels per day to 8.677 million bpd, falling for the 21st time over the last 22 weeks.
Energy traders also await Friday's Rig Count report from Baker Hughes for further indications on whether U.S. shale producers are continuing to return online, as oil prices stabilize. A week earlier, the U.S. oil rig count rose by nine to 337 for the week ending on June 10, representing their third straight weekly increase.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell more than 0.40% to an intraday low of 93.03, dropping to fresh one-month lows. The index is down by more than 5% since early-December. Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Despite the recent upswing in oil prices, crude futures are still down by more than 50% from their level in June, 2014 when they peaked at $115 a barrel.