Sterling was down against the dollar and the yen this morning (August 11th) despite the strongest house price data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) seen in two years.A report from the group due out later today will show that the proportion of respondents witnessing a fall in house prices in July exceeded the number of people reporting gains by eight percentage points, the slimmest margin August 2007.Commenting on the figures, David Leaf, a Rics spokesperson, said: "If mortgage availability remains insufficient to meet the increase in buyer demand, then it is possible that prices may slip back again especially if unemployment continues to rise and mortgage rates increase."Meanwhile, a report published by the British Retail Constortium also showed that consumer confidence also rose in June, taking the group's index to a 14-month high.However, sterling was weakened this morning by a faltering performance of equities on the London Stock Exchange which caused concerns about an expeditious recovery to re-emerge.