Gold bounced from a one-week low on Friday after this week's climb to a record above $900 an ounce, but the market could consolidate before charging higher, fund managers and analysts said.

President George W. Bush's plan announced on Friday to give the U.S. economy temporary tax cuts and other measures totaling about $150 billion failed to boost the gold market as the dollar gained slightly versus the euro on the news.

However, price volatility of the yellow metal could rise in the near term because of uncertainties in other financial markets. Still, gold should benefit from flight-to-quality demand as the stock market lags.

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Spot gold hit an intraday low of just over $870 an ounce before rebounding to $881.90/882.60 by New York's last quote at 2:15 p.m., up from $876.70/877.40 in New York, on bargain hunting.

On Friday, Bush said he wanted to work with Congress on a stimulus package that would focus on tax rebates for families and incentives to encourage business investment. The White House said the package could create about 500,000 new jobs.

The dollar should be supported in the near term after the Bush administration's stimulus package, a negative for gold, market watchers said.

"The one thing about gold, in the short term, is that the dollar may move in the trading-range pattern as opposed to the straight-down pattern," said Bill O'Neill, managing partner of LOGIC Advisors in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

O'Neill said gold could be on the defensive in the near term in spite of solid long-term fundamentals.

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