NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Consumer confidence extended its late-2003 rally into the new year, inching above its long-term average thanks to an upbeat economic outlook.
The ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, which assesses consumer views on the economy, personal finances and the buying climate, is now at -7 on a scale of +100 to -100, its best level since July 7, 2002. Despite a late year surge, the index averaged -19 in 2003, its worst annual performance since 1994.
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Forty-two percent of Americans last week said the economy's in good shape, raising ratings for this category to their highest level since May 2002. The highest level of confidence in this category was set at 80 percent on January 16, 2000, while the lowest, 7 percent, occurred in late 1991 and early 1992.
About as many, 41 percent, say it's a good time to buy things. Consumer confidence in this category edged up slightly from 40 percent the previous week and hovers between its best level, 57 percent set on January 16, 2000, and its worst, 20 percent set in fall 1990.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents rate their own finances as excellent or good, up from 55 percent the week prior. Consumers expressed the most confidence in their personal finances on August 30, 1998 and in January 2000 when ratings reached 70 percent.
All three gauges are now at or just above their 18-year averages.
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 January 4, 2004, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
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