* Oil prices up but well off session highs
* Sterling reaches 2016 high against the dollar
* Bulk of Brexit referendum results expected 0100-0300 GMT
(New throughout, updates prices and market activity)
By Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices held gains in
post-settlement trading on Thursday, with Brent crude rising
above $51 a barrel after a YouGov poll showed the "remain" camp
ahead in Britain's referendum on European Union membership.
Crude prices had settled 2 percent higher after a volatile
session, with investors less worried about prospects for the
global economy on the growing view that Britain would remain in
the EU.
A poll by YouGov for Sky News showed respondents had voted
52 percent to 48 percent to remain in the 28-country bloc, after
voting ended at 2100 GMT.
After the poll, sterling rose around 0.75 percent against
the U.S. dollar to $1.4998, its highest since Dec. 17.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled up $1.03, or 2.1 percent, at
$50.91 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 settled at $50.11 a barrel,
up 98 cents. Both contracts shot up in the last few minutes of
trading. Brent crude rose to a high of $51.12 a barrel after the
YouGov poll.
"I think one of the biggest implications is that uncertainty
is resolved. People have been antsy and nervous and that always
causes investors to be anxious and not be in the markets as
much," said Tom Barkley, a British citizen and professor of
finance practice at the Whitman School of Management of Syracuse
University in New York.
Commodities and other financial markets had been on
tenterhooks ahead of Britain's referendum on EU membership.
MKTS/GLOB
While the upside potential is tempered, the possible
downward drop in markets is not likely to be symmetric, Barkley
said.
"If results are counted and Britain leaves, it would be a
big negative shock for all markets - stocks, commodities and
currencies ... because the market had factored in a 'remain'."
The dollar index .DXY was down 0.4 percent. While the
sterling's GBP= rally to 2016 highs weighed on the dollar,
lower U.S. jobless claims limited the greenback's drop as the
data bolstered the outlook for the American economy and chances
for a rate hike. A weaker dollar makes greenback-denominated oil
less expensive for users of other currencies. FRX/
Oil prices drew some support early in the session when
market intelligence firm Genscape's report of a drawdown of
nearly 1 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage base
for U.S. crude futures during the week to June 21, traders who
saw the data said.