NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rallied Friday to close above $800 at their highest level in nearly 28 years, boosted by rallying crude-oil prices and the dollar's tumble to a new record low against the euro.

Gold for December delivery rallied $14.80 to finish at $808.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday high of $810.70, a level not seen since 1980.

The record high for Nymex gold was $875 set on Jan. 21, 1980, and the record settle was $825.50 set on the same date.

"The commodities markets in general are staging a huge rally today," said Zachary Oxman, a senior trader at Wisdom Financial. "I believe that a huge wave of technical buying pushed by traders, funds, purchases into the gold ETF and the continued fall of the U.S. dollar are all pushing gold and silver higher today."

"I'd expect gold to hold firmly over $800 throughout the year, and the dollar to continue to sell off," Oxman said in emailed comments.

Crude-oil futures traded near historic highs Friday, gaining on speculation that demand for oil will increase after a government report showed U.S. employment grew more than expected last month. See Futures Movers.

On the currency markets, the euro touched a new record high against the dollar Friday, rising to $1.4527, its highest level since the European unit began trading in January 1999. It last traded at $1.4514.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.4% at 76.30. See Currencies.

"Gold had already regained its footing overnight, as fresh dollar selling emerged once again after yesterday's feeble attempt at a rally," said Jon Nadler, an analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers, in a research note.

"The metal's powerful surge is reflective of growing apprehensions that something, somewhere in the global financial system might go awry, despite interest rate maneuvers designed to keep things going," Nadler said.

Also on Nymex, silver for December delivery rose 27.40 cents at $14.599 an ounce, January platinum gained $11.90 at $1,462.70 an ounce and December palladium finished up $1.50 at $377.40 an ounce.

In contrast, December copper dropped 3.75 cents at $3.3250 a pound.

Metals stocks rally

Indexes tracking mining and metals shares rallied Friday. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index XAU, +1.17% rose 3.5% to 187.33 points. The CBOE Gold Index GOX rose 3.6% to 190.56 points, and the Amex Gold Bugs Index HUI, surged 4% to 439.38 points.

As for sector exchange-traded funds, the StreetTracks Gold Trust ETF GLD, +0.84% rose 2.4% to $79.83, the iShares Silver Trust ETF SLV, +2.18% surged 3.8% to $145.30 and the Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF GDX, +1.28% rose 3.9% to $50.71.

Gold warehouse inventories fell by 8,493 troy ounces to stand at 7.3 million troy ounces as of late Thursday, according to Nymex data. Silver inventories dropped 54,456 troy ounces to stand at 133.6 million troy ounces, while copper supplies fell 345 short tons to stand at 19,225 short tons.