NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar extended its decline Tuesday after a private report showed pending home sales jumped more than some anticipated in April. The dollar index , which measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell to 78.664, down from 79.062 in late North American trading Monday. The currency declined in earlier trading amid ongoing hopes that the worst of the global recession is over, reducing investor interest in the safe-haven status of the dollar.
