The yen was weaker all around amid speculation that the Japanese government is about to lower its forecasts for the country's economic growth. Steve Pearson at HBOS said reports of a possible downgrade for the first time in 23 months in the weekend edition of Nihon Keizai Shimbun have been a green light to sell the Japanese unit. "The bottom line for the yen is that domestic capital outflows into higher yielding overseas assets, a carry trade, have picked up just as international investor appetite for Japanese equity has waned," he added. Correspondingly, share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed sharply lower, sending the benchmark Nikkei index to its lowest level in nearly two months. The euro, meanwhile, got a modest lift from comments by European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, who warned that oil prices still threatened to fuel inflation, posing a risk to global economic growth, and that central bankers must remain vigilant. Trichet was speaking in Sydney as the spokesman for the G10 central bankers. The G10 "are in the same mood as before" on inflation, he said. "We have to continue to be very alert. We have to be, with regard to my own institution, totally vigilant," Trichet said. Elsewhere, the dollar stayed well bid despite a drop in US housing market numbers released last week. But with little on the data calendar this week and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, the dollar looks set to be captive to movements elsewhere. The pound was up after some mixed data showing a strong rise in house prices and an improvement in government finances alongside early signs that the property market may be due for a slowdown.