NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. consumer confidence fell last week amid uncertainties over possible war and rising gasoline prices, a survey said Tuesday.

ABC News/Money Magazine said its weekly Consumer Comfort index fell to minus 26 in the week ended March 16 from minus 25 the prior week. The index, a scale of plus 100 to minus 100, is approaching the nine-year low of minus 27. The index reached the same low during the week of Jan. 19, 2003.

Measured separately, just 22 percent of Americans rated the nation's economy as excellent or good, down from 23 percent in the previous week. The worst level was touched in late 1991 and early 1992 with 7 percent.

The survey's buying climate gauge, which assesses Americans' willingness to part with their cash, has historically proven vulnerable to rising gasoline prices. This week, 34 percent of respondents said it was a good time to buy things they want or need, down from 36 percent the prior week.

But opinions on personal finance rose in the week ended March 16, as 55 percent of those polled said their finances are in excellent or good shape, up two points from a week earlier. The lowest reading was 42 percent in March 1993.

The ABC News/Money consumer index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. The latest week's results are based on 1,006 interviews in the week ended Mar. 16, 2003, and have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.