NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar declined Tuesday, ahead of reports expected to show new and existing home sales slowed in November and consumer sentiment weakened in December. The dollar index , which tracks the currency versus six major counterparts, declined to 80.972 from 81.227 in late North American trading Monday. The euro rose slightly to $1.3994 from $1.3943. "Housing data for November are not expected to be a gift from Santa," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets. New home sales are expected to drop to a 400,000 annual pace, the lowest level since the 1981-82 recession. Existing home sales are expected to decline to a 4.90 million rate. Both reports, as well as one on consumer sentiment, are expected at 10 a.m. The dollar remained lower after Commerce Department confirmed that the U.S. economy contracted at a 0.5% annual rate in the third quarter. The gross domestic product figure was the final revision for the three months ended in September and in line with expectations of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See GDP story. "The report is not likely to alter expectations that the fourth quarter will likely see a much more pronounced decline," Strauss said. The government's first estimate on the current quarter's GDP will come in January. Some economists are bracing for a 6% decline.

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