NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence last week built on the previous week's solid gains, reaching its best level in nearly three months.

The ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index stands at -11 on its scale of +100 to -100, compared to -13 the previous week and -17 the week before. It has gained 11 points since its -22 low for the year, set March 14, and is slightly lower than its -9 long-term average.

The recent advance in consumer confidence comes amid signs of economic improvement, and despite record-high gasoline prices. The Federal Reserve kept its federal funds rate at 1 percent Tuesday -- its lowest level in 46 years -- but dropped a long-standing pledge to be "patient" with raising rates, setting the stage for future increases.

The poll is comprised of Americans' views on the economy, personal finances and the buying climate. Here's a closer look at each of the three components.

Thirty-six percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, unchanged from last week. Consumer confidence in this category peaked at 80 percent on Jan. 16, 2000 and bottomed out at 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

Americans' confidence in their own finances improved slightly, as 57 percent rate their fiscal health as excellent or good, up from 56 percent last week. The highest level of confidence for this category, 70 percent, was set on Aug. 30, 1998, and matched in January 2000. The worst, 42 percent, was set March 14, 1993.

The survey's buying gauge also crept upwards. Forty percent of respondents say it's an excellent or good time to buy things, up from 39 percent last week. Consumer confidence in this category hit a high of 57 percent on Jan. 16, 2000 and a low of 20 percent in Fall 1990.

Confidence, as usual, is higher among better-off Americans. The index is +15 among higher-income people while -56 among those with the lowest incomes.

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Regionally, the index is doing better in the South, -5, and the Midwest, -7, than in the Northeast, -20, and the West, -16. Vast partisan differences persist, with the index +42 among Republicans, -29 among independents and -40 among Democrats.

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 1,000 interviews in the month ending May 2, 2004, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.