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NEW YORK - Gold futures rallied near 3 percent on Tuesday, gaining the most in almost seven weeks on speculation of a weaker dollar while platinum surged more than 4 percent to another record high of $2,174 on persisting stockpile concerns from South Africa, the metals top producer.

Gold for April delivery soared $23.70, or 2.6 percent, to end at $929.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The percentage gain was the biggest for a most-active contract since January 2. Other metals prices also made big gains.

The dollar slipped as much as 0.7 percent against the euro. A weak U.S. currency creates export advantages for buyers using foreign exchange to purchase dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold. The opposite is true when the dollar rebounds.

Gold is up 11 percent this year, reaching a record $942.20 an ounce on January 30.

"The major trend is again preparing to assert itself,'' said Dennis Gartman, economist and editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter. He recommended buying gold.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, dropped 0.4 percent to 75.945.

"Whether these (commodity) gains last remains to be seen, but for now the less-than inspiring U.S. macro backdrop seems to have taken a back seat to the run we are seeing in commodities," said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global, in a research note.

Crude-oil futures soared nearly 5 percent to close above the $100 a barrel mark for the first time ever, on concerns that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production which boosted prices.

PLATINUM FEVER

April platinum rallied $89.40, or more than 4 percent, to close at $2,153.10 an ounce. Earlier in electronic trading, the contract hit a new record high of $2,174.0 an ounce.