The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index stands at -21 on its scale of +100 to -100, down from last week's -18 and four points off its recent high of -17. That compares unfavorably to a lifetime average of -9 in this 17-year-old weekly poll.

Seventy-three percent rate the national economy negatively — "not so good" or "poor" — including 30 percent who say it's "poor," up four points this week to the most since Dec. 12, 1993. It's the largest one-week jump in this gauge since October 1991.

Political as well as economic sentiments are at play. In an ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll last week, just 47 percent approved of George W. Bush's work on the economy, from 79 percent of Republicans to 18 percent of Democrats. This week's ABC/Money index fell by nine points among Democrats, to -37, while steady at +7 among Republicans.

 INDEX — The ABC/Money index is made up of ratings of the economy, personal finances and the buying climate. Just 27 percent of Americans have a positive view of the economy, 14 points fewer than the 17-year average.

Other views are closer to usual: Thirty-seven percent call it a good time to buy things, two points off the average; and 54 percent rate their own finances positively, three points below average.

 TREND — The index rose 13 points during the Iraq war, but then slumped by nine points before settling into a trough. It's averaged -22 this year, so far its worst since 1993. The index's worst year ever was 1992, when it averaged -50; in its best, 2000, it averaged +29.

 GROUPS — Confidence, as is typical, is higher among wealthier and better-educated Americans. The index is +6 in highest-income households compared with -55 in the lowest. It's -12 among college graduates while -56 among high-school dropouts.

Race and gender are also factors: it's -15 among whites while -54 among blacks, and -14 among men while -28 among women.

The index is worse in the Northeast (-28) than it is in the West (-22), South (-19) or Midwest (-20). As noted, it's +7 among Republicans, compared with -24 among independents and -37 among Democrats.

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	-21
Last week	-18
Last month	-17
2003 Low	-28
2002 Average	-11
2001 Average	+4
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

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

 NATIONAL ECONOMY — Twenty-seven percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good; it was 30 percent last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

 PERSONAL FINANCES — Fifty-four percent rate their own finances as excellent or good; it was 56 percent last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998 and last matched in January 2000. The worst was 42 percent March 14, 1993.

 BUYING CLIMATE — Thirty-seven percent say it's an excellent or good time to buy, the same as last week. The best was 57 percent 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 a random sample of about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week's results are based on 1,001 interviews in the month ending July 13, 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.