New Wrinkle In Latest Installment Of Rescue-Package Drama

An unnamed official with the Grecian government has denied an earlier report saying that the Grecian government wants to squeeze the IMF out from a standby rescue package.

Reuters, citing a report by Market News International, said Greek officials were seeking to amend the plan to avoid triggering the IMF portion of the plan. The report said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou feared the measures could trigger social and political unrest and that the premier wanted to alter the plan to bypass an IMF contribution.

Later, a report by Dow Jones Newswires, quoting an unnamed senior Greek official, said Greece wanted more clarity on how the plan would work but wasn't planning to demand a renegotiation of the agreement to exclude the IMF.

That denial may have had an influence on the greenback, and more so on gold. Although the U.S. Dollar Index has pulled back only slightly, gold has leapt up to the point where it's now in the plus column. At 9:50, the metal got as high as $1,136.60.