NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence last week hovered near its 2004 low as inflation appeared to be edging higher.

The ABC/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index stands at -20 on its scale of +100 to -100. Although the index is little changed from -19 the previous week, the index has dropped nine points in a month and is now only two points off its -22 low for the year, set in mid-March.

The recent decline in confidence came as food prices climbed and gasoline topped $2 a gallon. Although gas prices dropped by 4 cents a gallon this week, the government said Tuesday that the consumer price index posted its biggest gain last month in nearly 3-1/2 years.

Here's a closer look at the three components that comprise the ABC/Money index:

Thirty-four percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, down sharply from 54 percent the prior week. The highest level of confidence for this category, 80 percent, was set January 16, 2000 and the lowest, 7 percent, in late 1991 and early 1992.

Fifty-two percent of respondents rate their own finances as excellent or good, down from 54 percent the previous week. Confidence in this category peaked at 70 percent on August 30, 1998, and January 2000, but bottomed out at 42 percent on March 14, 1993.

And 34 percent of Americans say it's an excellent or good time to buy things they want or need, unchanged from last week. The best level of confidence for this category, 57 percent, was set January 16, 2000 and the lowest, 20 percent, in the fall of 1990.

Confidence, as usual, is best among better-off Americans. The index is +10 among higher-income people while -61 among those with the lowest incomes.

A wide partisan gulf persists. The index is +20 among Republicans, but -21 among independents and -43 among Democrats.

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Expectations for the future direction of the economy, measured separately, are edging higher though still glum. Only 28 percent of respondents say the economy is improving, five points higher than 3 months ago but still six points below its 34 percent high set in January.

Thirty-eight percent say the economy's getting worse and another 34 percent say it's staying the same.

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 four weeks ended June 13, 2004, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.