The euro edged a little higher against the dollar Wednesday as markets anticipated a possible interest rate rise by the European Central Bank and digested disappointing U.S. economic data. The euro bought US$1.1933 in early European trading, up from US$1.1921 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound edged down to US$1.7531 from US$1.7536. The dollar was a little higher against the Japanese currency, rising to 115.80 yen from 115.73 yen. In earlier Asian trading, it fell to 115.45 yen, a one-month low. The ECB is widely expected to raise interest rates in the 12-nation euro zone by a quarter point to 2.5 percent when it meets Thursday. Higher rates can bolster a currency by giving higher returns on certain types of investments. On Tuesday, disappointing data on the U.S. housing market and consumer confidence clouded the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. The figures showed that sales of used homes in January fell a disappointing 2.8 percent on month. The Conference Board, a private research group, also said its consumer confidence index for February fell to 101.7 from 106.8 a month earlier, down more than expected.