US consumer confidence lowest since Oct 1993-ABC/WashPost

NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - A weekly gauge of U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since October, 1993 as rising gasoline prices added to fears over an escalating housing and credit crisis, a report showed on Tuesday.

The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index fell to -39 in the week ended April 13, from -34 the previous week. The index ranges from -100 to +100.

The news outlets said the fall in consumer confidence was expected: "On top of the housing and credit crises, retail (gasoline) prices climbed 6 cents to $3.39 last week, up 51 cents in the last year to their highest levels in more than 27 years."

The three components of the index fell: positive views on the buying climate were down one percentage point at 24 percent; views on the national economy were off two percentage points at 15 percent; and views on personal finances lost 4 percentage points to 53 percent.

In a separate ABC monthly measure, 3 percent of Americans said the U.S. economy is improving, unchanged from last month and at the record low set during the 1990-1991 recession.

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 to April 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Dan Grebler)