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News > Economy
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Consumer views hit 8-year low
ABC News/Money poll falls to level not seen since Jan. 1994; components also hit new lows.
October 23, 2002: 12:32 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence continued its steep decline in October and hit a level not seen since Jan. 1994 as a volatile stock market, the threat of war in Iraq, and higher fuel prices weighed on the U.S. economy, according to an ABC News/Money magazine poll released late Tuesday.

The ABC News/Money consumer comfort index, comprised of views on the economy, personal finance and buying climate, fell four more points following a five-point drop in the first week of October.

The index now stands at -23 on a basis of positive 100 to negative 100.

In 877 weeks of ongoing polls, the survey has only seen two declines of four or more points in a month only 12 times, the last coming in March 2001.

Measured separately, views on the U.S. economy fell three percentage points, as 26 percent of those surveyed said the economy is in excellent of good shape, also the lowest level since Jan. 1994.

Opinions on personal finance also dropped, as 53 percent of those polled said their finances are in excellent or good shape, down from 55 percent in the previous survey. This marks the lowest level since August 1995.

Also, 36 percent of those asked said it is an excellent or good time to buy things they want or need, a decline from 38 percent in the previous poll and a level not seen since January 1997.

The ABC News/Money magazine survey represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each week. This week's results are based on 1,012 interviews in the month ended Oct. 20, 2002, and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.