U.S. consumer confidence improved in the latest week, according to an ABC News index, as economic pessimism fell to its lowest point in six years.

The overall consumer-comfort index reading was -43 on its scale of -100 to +100, improved from the -45 it had been at for the prior two weeks. The average for the year  is -46, while the worst-ever reading was last year’s -48.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they thought the economy was worsening, the fewest since January 2004. For the first time in seven months, more respondents — 28 percent — thought the economy was improving rather than getting worse.

Still, consumer confidence remains on pace for its second-worst year on record, ABC News said.

The index is based on a random survey of 1,000 respondents nationwide. It measures typical Americans’ confidence in three areas: the national economy, their finances and their willingness to spend money, according to the report. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

The index is derived by subtracting the negative response to each index question from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are added and divided by three.