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Gold hit a three-week high above $960 an ounce on Friday as buying linked to the weaker dollar pushed the metal through technical resistance, before paring gains after U.S. consumer sentiment data pressured the euro.

Spot gold hit a high of $961.00 an ounce, its firmest level since Aug. 7, and was bid at $955.10 an ounce at 1434 GMT, against $946.75 an ounce late in New York on Thursday.

Prices rose after heavy selling of the dollar late on Thursday, particularly against the Swiss franc, knocking the U.S. currency to multi-week lows versus the euro.

“In the near term is it still predominantly the currency that is in the driving seat,” said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen.

“That has managed to tip (gold) through a technical level where new buying and short covering has been triggered this morning, and that has given us a bit of momentum on the upside.”

Gold typically moves in

This week’s video-o-rama comes to you a day late as I make my away from Cape Town to Europe. Notwithstanding terribly slow broadband at South African airports, I have managed to compile an interesting potpourri of clips.

Topics ranged from another round of discussions about the proposed regulatory reform to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke facing a grilling on Capital Hill over the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal to the usual dose of debate on the outlook for the economy and financial markets.

The stars of this week’s round-up include Steven Pearlstein, Pete Peterson, Warren Buffett (US economy in “shambles”), Nouriel Roubini (US economy “sort of stabilizing”), Puru Saxena, Edmund Phelps, Mohamed El-Erian, Robert Prechter (a “lot more” bear market) and T. Boone Pickens.

The compilation kicks of with Barry Ritholtz, author of must-read “Bailout Nation” and editor of The Big Picture blog, sharing his views on

In the energy market Friday, oil prices did turn north, but just barely, with crude for January delivery closing at $49.93/barrel, up 51 cents in its debut as front-month contract. Reformulated gasoline for January delivery rose 5 cents, to $1.09/gallon.

Traders await the results of OPEC’s emergency meeting on November 29 in Egypt and the regular meeting December 17 in Algeria.

“So far, it appears that the Saudis would prefer to wait until the December meeting before announcing cuts,” said Robert Johnston, an energy analyst at Eurasia Group. The Saudis, OPEC’s largest producer, have the most clout.

“However, a high level of compliance with the October cuts and the continued price collapse likely increases Saudi willingness to take on further cuts, whether in November or December,” Johnston added.

Analysts at Saxo Bank wrote that, from a technical standpoint, next week will be very important. “We will be watching $56 and more importantly $61