The euro remained steady against the dollar around the 1.2040 usd mark despite a sharper than expected improvement in German business confidence The monthly Ifo index for July rose to 95.0 against expectations of 94.0 and 93.3 in June. Meanwhile, the July business assessment index rose to 94.9 from 93.7 in June, while the business expectations index grew to 95.0 from 92.9 Just like the ZEW survey last week, the Ifo index was boosted by the recent decline in the value of the euro and the announcement of early German elections. However, analysts cautioned that both of these are likely to be temporary factors "We doubt that the upturn in the IFO can be sustained without either a cut in interest rates from the ECB or further euro weakness," said Mitul Kotecha, head of global currency research at CALYON