* Spot gold up 1.5 pct after rising as much as 2.4 pct
* Gold in sterling and euro also off session highs
* Marginal lead for Remain in tight race - Reuters
calculation
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, June 24 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than 1 percent on
Friday, but was off session highs in volatile trade after early
official results from a British referendum showed a tight race
between campaigns to remain or leave the European Union.
The safe-haven precious metal rose as much as 2.4 percent at
one point after early returns showed the leave campaign ahead,
but curbed gains to trade less than 1 percent higher as the
remain camp pulled ahead.
With results in from 75 of 382 voting districts plus partial
BBC Northern Irish figures, those in favour of ending Britain's
43-year EU membership were on 48.7 percent of the vote, while
those wanting to stay were on 51.3 percent, based on Reuters
calculation.
Spot gold XAU= was up 1.2 percent at $1,270.20 an ounce by
0135 GMT GMT, after rising as high as $1,285.11 earlier.
U.S. gold for August delivery GCcv1 rose 0.7 percent to
$1,271.70.
"Investors are not going to buy into gold unless they are
more certain of an exit," said Daniel Hynes, commodity
strategist at ANZ.
"Smart money is still being on the sidelines till there is
any clear direction."
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.
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.
"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, a senior economist
at Mizuho Bank.
"But the one thing that we can be sure of is volatility."
Gold in terms of sterling XAUGBP=R and in euro XAUEUR=R
also rose, but was off session highs.
Spot silver XAG= and platinum XPT= advanced slightly,
while palladium XPD= dropped more than 2 percent.