U.S. Consumer confidence resumes fall - ABC/Post

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - American consumers' confidence ticked lower in the latest week after two weeks of improvement as views of the national economy and the buying climate stalled, a report showed on Tuesday.

The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index slipped to -31 in the week ended March 16 from -30 the previous week; the index ranges from -100 to +100.

"These negative indicators come as oil pushed past $110 a barrel last week, with gas prices at $3.28 a gallon, the highest since the energy shocks of the early 1980s," the news outlets said in a report.

In a separate gauge of expectations, only 3 percent of Americans think the economy is getting better, a historic low that matches levels reached in October 1990, during the 1990-1991 recession.

Two of the three components of the ABC/Washington Post index fell, as positive views on the buying climate and the U.S. economy both edged down one percentage point, to 29 percent and 21 percent respectively. Views on personal finances were unchanged at 53 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 ending March 16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The expectations gauge has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Dan Grebler)