Gold firmed on Thursday, having initially inched down to a two-week low after the voting of Britain's referendum on EU membership closed and early surveys suggested voters had chosen to remain in the bloc. Britons voted in the referendum that has divided the nation. The polls closed at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), with results expected early on Friday.

Spot gold was up 0.3 pct at $1,258.96 an ounce by 7:07 p.m. EDT (2307 GMT), after falling to $1,251.16, the lowest since June 8. Trading resumed at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Thursday.

"Gold has resumed its slide on the open as the YouGov poll indicated a 52-48 Remain advantage," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York, when prices were lower. "

Also UKIP's Nigel Farage, arguably the doyen of Brexit, seems to have conceded a Remain win." Nigel Farage, head of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and a leading voice in favor of leaving the EU, told Sky News he did not expect to be on the winning side.

The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union appears to be ahead in the EU membership referendum, according to polling firm YouGov which surveyed people about how they voted, Sky News reported.

Gold is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty.

"It's probably not the best thing for gold. We don't expect a full-out rout but we have to be mindful that the spec net positions are pretty elevated, so we are pretty net long right now," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy for TD Securities in Toronto. "There is a danger out there that we will over correct or have some of those longs get out of their positions and new shorts being built up."

The U.S. dollar was down 0.3 percent while sterling fell around 0.4 percent. On Wednesday, investors piled on near-term bullish and bearish options bets, racing to protect against price swings during Britain's vote, data showed.

Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.16 pct at $17.3 an ounce and platinum was flat at $960. Palladium rose 0.23 pct at $565.30 an ounce.