ABC/Wash Post Consumer Comfort Index edges up

NEW YORK Jan 22 (Reuters) - American consumers' confidence edged up in the latest week, though it was still near record lows as their ratings of the buying climate hit a 14-year low, a poll showed on Tuesday.

The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index edged up to -23 in the week ended Jan. 20, from -24 a week earlier, marking a 24-week run in negative double digits, the longest since 2002-2003.

The index ranges from -100 to +100 and its 2007 average was -11.

"(The record low view of the buying climate is) a chilling sign given the role of consumer spending in the economy," the news outlets said in a statement. "Only 29 percent call this a good time to buy things they want and need, the fewest since Oct. 24, 1993."

Of the three components of the consumer comfort index, positive views on the national economy rose 2 percentage points to 30 percent; views on personal finances held at 56 percent and those on the buying climate lost 1 percentage point to 29 percent.

Confidence measures are generally viewed as a barometer of consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. However, economists note that consumers do not always act in accordance with their statements to surveys.

The ABC/Washington Post consumer confidence survey was based on a sample of about 1,000 interviews conducted in the four weeks ended Jan. 20 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Dan Grebler)