The euro rose slightly against the dollar in thin year-end trading following weak U.S. economic data released earlier this week, according to AP. The euro _ whose membership will expand from 16 to 17 nations when Estonia joins on Saturday _ bought $1.3238 in early European trading Thursday, up from the $1.3214 in New York late Wednesday. There were no new economic reports released Wednesday in the U.S., but weaker-than-expected reports Tuesday on U.S. consumer confidence and the country's housing market disappointed investors and weighed on the dollar. In other trading, the British pound was barely changed Friday morning at $1.5514, up from $1.5509 late Wednesday in New York, and the dollar fell to 81.47 Japanese yen from 81.63 yen a day earlier.
