The steep decline in positive ratings of the national economy is largely at fault for the drop in confidence since January. Fifty-two percent of Americans now rate the economy positively, down 19 points from the start of the year. It's been steady since April, however.

The other two gauges that make up the index have been much more stable. Forty-two percent call it a good time to buy things they want or need, down five points since January, and 63 percent say their finances are in good shape, down three points in the period.

Ratings of the Economy
	7/08/01	1/7/01	Record high	15-year average
National Economy	52%	71%	80%	41%
Buying Climate	42%	47%	57%	38%
Personal Finances	63%	66%	70%	57%

The index fell seven points in one week in January (tying the one-week record), six points in one week in February, five points in one week in March, and another five points in one week in April. Nonetheless, all three gauges are still above their 15-year averages.

 Interactive Look at Confidence Data

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+ 4
Last week	+ 3
Four months ago	+12
Jan. 7, 2001	+23
Jan. 16, 2000	+38 Record high
2000 average	+29  Best full year
1992 average	- 44  Worst full year
Feb. 9, 1992	- 50  Record low
Average since 12/85	- 9

A Closer Look

As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans. The index is +37 in higher-income households but -34 in the lowest. It's +20 among college graduates but -28 among high-school dropouts. It's +10 among whites and -26 among blacks. For men, it's +9, while it's 0 among women.

Here's a closer look at the three components of the ABCNEWS/Money index:

  NATIONAL ECONOMY — Fifty-two percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, the same as last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

  PERSONAL FINANCES — Sixty-three percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, up a point from last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998 and last matched in January 2000. The worst rating was 42 percent, on March 14, 1993.

  BUYING CLIMATE — Forty-two percent say it's an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, an improvement of one point since last week but down from a best of 57 percent on Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

Methodology

The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week's results are based on 1,024 interviews in the month ending July 8 and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Field work was conducted by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The ABCNEWS/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by three. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.