NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence remained in a lull but views of the economy's future turned somewhat positive in the week ended Oct. 12, with more people saying the economy is improving, a report showed on Tuesday.

Thirty percent of Americans said in the latest ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort survey that the economy is getting better, and that is 10 percentage points higher than the summer and best in 17 months.

Meanwhile, the overall index, based on current views of the economy, rose slightly to -19 in the latest week from the previous week's -20 reading. It's the twenty-first straight week the index has been between -16 and -21.

Here's a closer look at the three components of the survey:

Twenty-seven percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, down from 28 percent the week prior. The highest level of confidence for this category was set at 80 percent in January 2000.

Fifty-eight percent of the respondents rated their personal finances as excellent or good, two percentage points higher than the week before. Consumers reported their highest feelings of confidence for this category, 70 percent, in August 1998.

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The buying climate component, which measures whether the economy is fit for buying things, rose to 37 percent from 36 percent. The best showing was 57 percent on Jan. 16, 2000, while the worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

The ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with a random sample of about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week's results are based on 1,003 interviews in the month ended Oct. 12, 2003, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.