NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Consumer confidence was steady last week, closing out the first month of the year above its long-term average.
The ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, based on American's views of current economic conditions, stands at -5 on its scale of +100 to -100, unchanged from the previous week. That's better than its 18-year average, -9, and much improved from its -19 average last year.
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Forty-one percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, down slightly from 42 percent the week prior. The lowest level of consumer confidence for this category was set at 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.
Respondents also felt slightly less confident about their personal finances as 58 percent rated their own finances as excellent or good, down from 59 percent the previous week.
The survey's buying gauge, which measures consumers willingness to spend, rose modestly to 43 percent from 42 percent the week prior. The best level of confidence in this category, 57 percent, was set in January 2000.
Confidence, as usual, is higher among better-off Americans. The index is +21 among higher-income people and -52 among those with the lowest incomes.
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 February 1, 2004, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
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