Gold gains, oil slides as early UK vote shows tight race

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA (Reuters) - Gold rose more than 1 percent and oil futures dropped below $50 a barrel amid sharp price swings on Friday, as official results so far from a British referendum showed a tight race between campaigns to remain in or leave the European Union.

Copper came off a seven-week top, but losses were marginal while grains stabilized as initial results from a referendum on Britain's 43-year EU membership poured in. China-traded commodities barely reacted, with actively traded iron ore and rebar futures largely steady.

"It's like a rollercoaster ride in the markets right now, but it's too early to tell which side is going to win," said Bob Takai, president at Sumitomo Corp Global Research.

With results in from 132 of 382 voting districts plus partial BBC Northern Irish figures, those in favor of ending Britain's 43-year EU membership were on 50.4 percent of the vote, while those wanting to stay were on 49.6 percent, based on Reuters calculation.

Spot gold was up 1.6 percent at $1,275.06 an ounce by 0213 GMT, after rising as much as 2.4 percent earlier to $1,285.11.

Gold's gains tracked those in other safe-havens such as bonds, while sterling sank in Asian trade. [MKTS/GLOB]

"We're finding safe-haven assets being bid up and in this case because it's much nearer to the event the demand for gold could be rather high," said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist at Mizuho Bank.

Gold had benefitted from fears of the 'Brexit' vote winning the referendum ahead of Thursday's polls, with some concerned it could tip Europe back into a recession, putting more pressure on the global economy.

That could curb demand for raw materials from oil to copper, dragging down prices again just as many were regaining favor in recent weeks.

If Britain becomes the first state to leave the European Union, it would be the biggest blow to the 28-nation bloc since its foundation.

The EU would be stripped of its leading free-market advocate and one of its two main military powers, and could face calls for similar votes by anti-EU politicians in other countries.

Gold in terms of sterling and euro (XAUEUR=R) also rose, but was well off session-peaks.

But analysts say it may still be a whippy session for global markets as results of the referendum come in.

"The one thing that we can be sure of is volatility," said Varathan of Mizuho Bank.

U.S. crude (CLc1) was down $1.07, or 2.1 percent at $49.04 a barrel and Brent oil (LCOc1) slipped $1.12, or 2.2 percent, to $49.79 a barrel. [O/R]

London copper was off 0.6 percent at $4,752 a ton, after touching a seven-week top of $4,795 on Thursday. Aluminum , nickel and lead dropped more than 1 percent. [MET/L]

In China, rebar futures slipped 0.4 percent and iron ore was up 0.1 percent.