Oil Prices Down 5% as Leave Camp Leads in UK Referendum

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures dropped to $47.59 per barrel and Brent crude plummeted below $49 per barrel as UK referendum results showed that the Leave campaign was gaining the upper hand.

LONDON (Sputnik) – Currently, the Leave camp is ahead with over 13,500,000 votes, according to BBC, which is projecting an "Out" victory.

Oil & US futures pic.twitter.com/DKysGekDB2

— Russian Market (@russian_market) June 24, 2016

Wales has voted in favor of leaving the bloc, while Scotland voted in favor of remaining part of the European Union.

Earlier, BBC quoted polling expert John Curtice as saying that 16,410,000 votes are needed for one side to win in the Brexit referendum, which was held across the United Kingdom on Thursday.

Nikkei Futures Trading Halted First Time Since May 2013

Nikkei futures trading was suspended for the first time since May 2013 as UK referendum results were coming in after the Thursday vote, The Wall Street Journal also reports.

Earlier, it was reported that the Tokyo Stock Exchange Nikkei index started 0.6 percent higher on Friday morning.