Confidence Holds Stable

Consumer confidence was stable this week at its 2006 peak, holding within the same narrow range it has hovered throughout the last month.

The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index stood at +1 on its scale of +100 to -100, matching a 2006 high first reached a month ago. Since mid-November, the CCI has held between +1 and -1, up sharply from -19 on Aug. 27.

The index is composed of ratings of the national economy, buying climate and personal finances. This week, 46 percent rated the economy positively, matching this year's high and six points above its average since December 1985.

Forty-three percent called it a good time to buy things -- just a point shy of the all-time high and five points better than average. And 62 percent said their own finances are in good shape, three points off the 2006 high but five points above average.

Consumer confidence wasn't the only factor holding steady. The Federal Reserve System on Tuesday left a key interest rate unchanged, and gas prices have moved little in the past few weeks.

TREND -- At +1, the index matched its best score since April 2002. It has averaged -10 so far this year and about its average, -9, in weekly polls since December 2005. Its annual average has been as high as +29 in 2000 and as low as -44 in 1992. Its weekly high was +38 in January 2000; its low, -50 in February 1992.

GROUPS -- As usual, the index was highest for the nation's wealthier groups -- it was +41 among higher-income Americans, while -26 among those with the lowest incomes. It was also +14 among college graduates, while -25 among people who haven't finished high school. It was +6 among whites, while -50 among blacks; and +10 among men, while -9 among women.

At +16, the index was strongest in the West again this week; it was weakest, at -13, in the Midwest. It was -4 and +1 in the Northeast and South, respectively.