The euro rose against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, climbing above US$1.19 in thin end-of-year trading. The 12-nation European currency bought US$1.1911 in early European trading, up sharply from US$1.1832 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound was up to US$1.7382 from US$1.7270. The dollar also slipped against the Japanese currency, dropping to 117.08 yen from 117.36 yen. The dollar had gained against most other currencies on Tuesday. A year ago this week, the euro reached an all-time high of $1.3667 against the dollar. Despite ongoing worries about the U.S. trade and budget deficits, the dollar has been helped since then by a string of interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve and by strong U.S. economic data