The U.S. dollar improved slightly against major rivals Wednesday after early U.S. data offered a positive take on the housing market, while the European single currency failed to follow through on an earlier rebound tied to waning worries about Greece. The dollar jumped to the highest level since Feb. 3 against the yen, rising as high as JPY91.12. Demand for the greenback pushed the euro well below the USD1.37 level, on the back of data that showed that U.S. housing starts in January climbed to the strongest level since July 2009, while industrial production beat analysts' estimates. Rising U.S. Treasury yields, in the wake of the economic data, is also adding more pressure on the yen and the euro, and making dollar-denominated assets more attractive, traders said. Yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose 3.8 basis points to yield 3.706%. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 79.952 from 79.630. U.S. January industrial production came in slightly better than expected as the factory sector paces the recovery. Production last month increased by 0.9%, with manufacturing up 1.0%. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase. December output was revised to 0.7%; originally, production was reported rising 0.6%. Earlier, data showed U.S. housing starts climbed 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted 591,000 annual rate compared to the prior month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists surveyed forecast a 5.9% increase in January housing starts, to an annual rate of 590,000. The pace of 591,000 was the strongest since July 2009. --

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