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Gold touched its lowest in two weeks on Wednesday as Asian stocks rose amid indications Britain would vote to remain in the European Union.

Bullion fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday in its biggest one-day loss in a month, after two opinion polls on Monday suggested it was increasingly likely Britain would choose to stay in the EU.

A vote on June 23 by Britain to leave the 28-member EU, dubbed "Brexit," could tip Europe back into recession, putting more pressure on the global economy, thereby increasing the safe-haven appeal of bullion.

"With the Brexit vote now less than 48 hours away, participants seem to be positioning for a 'Remain' vote, however, if the 'Leave' does win there could be a '+3 figure' gain in gold," MKS Group trader James Gardiner said in a note, referring to a possible rise of at least $100.

Some analysts said it was too early to completely rule out a British exit from the European Union.

"We still remain nervous about the accuracy of British polls and so would not read too much into current ones showing the "Remain" camp being in the driver's seat," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir in a note.

According to an opinion poll published on Tuesday, the campaign for Britain to stay in the EU has seen its lead over the rival "Out" camp cut to just one point.

"In case we see a 'Leave', we probably would see the upper end of our trading range which would be $1,350. But if we see a 'Stay' I think gold will see further uncertainty and may fall back towards the $1,200 level," said Dominic Schnider of UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.

Gold's sharp gains on uncertainty over Britain's European Union membership are likely to come to an end, regardless of whether Britons vote to leave or remain in Thursday's referendum.

An "In" vote is seen as quickly unwinding gold's five percent gain in June, as appetite for risk rises and focus returns to the U.S. economy, analysts and fund managers say.

"If investors become overly worried, it is likely that the greenback strengthens with implications for earnings and industry group positioning as precious metals and commodities weaken," Citi analyst Tobias Levkovich said.

Another reason for gold to see a sharp, albeit short-lived fall is that in times of financial stress, it can be used as a source of cash to cover losses elsewhere.

Reference: Reuters