NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Optimistic views of the economy's future were near a 19-month high last week, far above their average for 2003.
The ABC/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, a consumer confidence survey, last week stood at -11 on its scale of +100 to -100. The index was unchanged from the previous two weeks and is near its own 16-month high. But the survey has also averaged -20 so far this year, on pace for its worst annual performance in a decade.
Here's a look at the poll's individual components.
Thirty-five percent of Americans say the economy is improving while 27 percent say it's getting worse. This is only the second time this year that optimists have outnumbered pessimists.
Positive economic expectations have been up 10 points in three months, up 26 points from the start of the Iraqi war, and 11 points over their 2003 average.
Fifty-six percent of respondents rate their own finances as excellent or good, up slightly from 55 percent the week prior.
The survey's buying gauge, which measures consumers willingness to spend, hit a new yearly high last week and is four points higher than the category's 39 percent weekly average as 43 percent of Americans say it's an excellent or good time to buy things.
Ratings of the buying climate were at or near annual highs at holiday time during seven of the last 10 years.
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. Last week's results are based on 1,000 interviews in the month ending December 14, 2003, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
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