LONDON, Jan 6 - Sterling rose one percent against the falling U.S. dollar on Tuesday to set a new 11-year high above $1.8255 , with dollar weakness and UK interest rate rise speculation fuelling the gains, dealers said. The pound was also firmer on the day against the euro, holding close to a three-week high of 69.89 pence per euro set earlier in the session. It also hit its highest level against the Japanese yen since early August, climbing to 193.90 yen . Expectations that U.S. rates will remain low for some time have been fuelled by recent dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials. In Britain, expectations for higher rates were underpinned by a Halifax report on Tuesday showing the strongest rise in UK house prices since February and separate data on strong retail sales, leading to nervousness ahead of a Bank of England (BoE) rate-setting meeting which starts on Wednesday.||