The euro and European stocks received a boost on Wednesday from a positive German business sentiment report, while concerns about the US economy kept the dollar under pressure. A decrease in the value of the dollar led to increased interest in commodities like oil and gold, which had recently experienced a decline in prices. Despite worries about the US economy, global demand for commodities is expected to remain strong, particularly due to the growth of economies such as China. The Ifo institute's report showed an improvement in German corporate sentiment in March, indicating a more optimistic outlook on the economic situation and providing some relief from the overall gloomy global economic environment. Audrey Childe Freeman, European economist at CIBC World Markets, noted that the Ifo report has exceeded expectations for the past three months. She mentioned that the data supports the idea of Germany and the euro zone becoming more independent, which also suggests that the ECB will not be reducing rates in the near future. The Ifo economic research institute reported that their business climate index increased to 104.8 from 104.1 in February, which helped to decrease investors' desire for safe assets and caused euro zone government bonds to drop from their initial high levels. This news came after a decrease in US consumer confidence and a significant drop in home values, indicating that Americans may be spending less. The FTSEurofirst 300 index briefly turned positive after starting lower, before ultimately dropping 0.2 percent. The German DAX remained steady, while London's FTSE 100 index decreased by 0.3 percent. Swiss miner Xtrata experienced a significant drop of around 9 percent following the breakdown of takeover talks with Vale, the world's largest iron ore miner. This decline came just a day after European stocks had risen by approximately 3 percent, with banks leading the way after JPMorgan significantly increased its offer to acquire Bear Stearns. The news helped alleviate concerns in a sector impacted by the credit crunch. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended the day with a slight decrease of 0.3 percent, while MSCI's measurement of other Asian stock markets saw an increase of 0.6 percent. The MSCI world equity index saw a small increase of 0.2 percent. The dollar weakened against various major currencies, struggling due to ongoing worries about the US economy's health. The dollar index decreased by 0.6 percent, leading to a half cent increase in the euro to approximately $1.5646 following the Ifo report. The 10-year Bund yield remained relatively stable at 3.872 percent, while the 10-year yield for US Treasuries decreased by 2.4 basis points to 3.517 percent. US light crude for May delivery rose by 73 cents to $101.94, and gold saw a slight increase to $940.50 per ounce from around $934.60 per ounce in late New York trading on Tuesday.