Published by Zeb BhamThe pound was falling against the dollar in early trading this morning (September 2nd), weighed down by gloomy housing market figures from Nationwide.According to the building society, house prices fell for a second consecutive month in August, the first time they have done so since February 2009.Commenting on the figures, Nationwide said buying activity has stagnated during the summer months and unless there is a strong rebound in September, three-monthly price averages will turn negative next month."As more sellers have returned to the market, buyers have a greater selection of properties to choose from and more bargaining power with which to bid down asking prices," said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist.Hometrack and Rightmove have provided similar figures for August, putting persistent pressure on the pound, which is this morning trading around $1.5394, against $1.5450 at the end of the physical trading day in New York yesterday.For more information on foreign exchange treasury services and risk management, visit our Corporate FX site.