Oil prices ended lower Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum.

The Leave camp won Britain's Brexit referendum on Friday morning by obtaining nearly 52 percent of ballots, pulling the country out of the 28-nation European Union (EU) after its 43-year membership.

The crude prices slumped on Friday as the Brexit vote spurred massive risk aversion among investors amid soaring worries about the impact of the Brexit on the UK and euro zone economy.

Oil prices also came under pressure from a much-stronger U.S. dollar on Friday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 1.78 percent at 95.197 in late trading.

A stronger U.S. dollar dented investor sentiment, which made the dollar-denominated oil less attractive for holders of other currencies.

Analysts said the possible higher risk aversion is likely to make it hard for oil prices to regain the 50 U.S. dollars per barrel mark in the near future.

The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery lost 2.47 U.S. dollars to settle at 47.64 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery decreased 2.5 dollars to close at 48.41 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. 

source : xinhua