LONDON, Ramadan 19, 1437, June 24, 2016, SPA -- The polls closed Thursday in Britain's historic referendum with a leading supporter of the campaign to leave the European Union saying it looked like his side had lost the vote, sending the pound soaring and cheering Britain's pro-European partisans, according to AP. But politicians and polling experts said it was far too early to declare a winner as the country began a nerve-wracking night of ballot-counting after a day of high turnout and foul weather. As the polls closed Thursday, U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage set a downbeat tone for the supporters of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU, telling Sky News television "it looks like 'remain' will edge it" in the referendum. The pound, which had been strengthening throughout the day on speculation that "remain" would win, soared past $1.50 as Farage's statement filtered across the international media. Polling experts said early indications were that "remain" had the advantage, although all of them hedged their comments with warnings and caveats. --SPA 01:17 LOCAL TIME 22:17 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w