Gold futures in New York rose to a historic high in electronic trading on Wednesday as speculative buying intensified after oil hit a record above $101 a barrel and the U.S. dollar tumbled against other currencies.

Gold for April delivery GCJ8, the most active gold contract, on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange hit a high of $959 an ounce, up from Tuesday's settlement of $948.90 an ounce.

(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Jan Dahinten)