New York, NY, Apr. 3—According to the latest ABC News/Money Magazine consumer comfort index, the war isn't hurting consumer confidence. In fact, attitudes about the economy even rose two points to –26 as of March 30, but still remained near a nine year low.
The index had dropped before the war broke out, but now seems essentially flat, having remained below negative 25 for the last four weeks, according to the index.
“That matches its trend at the start of the 1991 Gulf War, when the index was -40 the week before the war began, and stayed about there (-39 to -35) during the seven weeks of fighting,'' ABC News and Money Magazine said.
According to the latest survey, 22% of respondents expressed confidence in the economy, up from 21% the week before, while 55% said their own finances were in good standing, up from 54% in the prior week. In assessing the buying climate, 34% said it was good, up from 33% a week earlier.
The consumer comfort index was based on a random survey of 1,006 people nationwide. The index measures typical Americans' confidence in three areas: the national economy, their own finances and their willingness to spend money. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
