New York (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence gained ground last week, reversing some of its prewar losses as U.S. forces charged towards Baghdad, a new poll said Tuesday.

The ABC News/Money magazine consumer confidence index rose to negative 22 in the week ended Sunday, up from a reading of negative 26 the prior week. Index results are reported on a scale of plus-100 to minus-100.

Nearly a quarter of respondents, 24 percent, rated the nation's economy as excellent or good, up from 22 percent in the previous survey. The lowest level, 7 percent, was recorded in late 1991 and early 1992 during the sluggish economic recovery following the 1990-91 recession.

In the personal finance category, 58 percent of those surveyed rated their own finances as excellent or good, up from 55 percent. The best figure in this category was 70 percent, set in August 1998.

The survey's buying gauge, which measures consumers' willingness to spend, rose to 35 percent, up slightly from 34 percent the previous week. The 20-percent record low was set in the fall of 1990.

Separately, the economic optimism index, released early Tuesday by Investor's Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, rose to its highest level in 10 months.

The ABC News/Money magazine index is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. The latest results are based on 1,007 interviews in the week ended April 6 and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.