Investor morale eases in June on rising energy costs-UBS

NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Investors' confidence in the U.S. economy fell in June as rising energy costs weighed on sentiment, a survey showed on Monday.

The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism fell to 89 in June after surging to 95 in May.

The Personal Dimension of the Index, which measures optimism about investors' own personal investment portfolios, decreased 8 points in June to 67 from 75 in May, UBS said.

"As the summer driving season gets started, investors are clearly noticing the impact of higher gas prices on their bottom line, which in turn affects sentiment about their investments," Maury Harris, chief U.S. economist at UBS Investment Bank, said in a statement.

Despite the decrease in confidence, investors are a little more optimistic about the outlook for the US economy generally, according to the index. The Economic Dimension, which measures investors' feelings about the direction of the overall US economy over the next 12 months, increased to 22 in June from 20 the prior month.

Nearly three in four investors say they believe energy costs are hurting the current investment climate "a lot," UBS said, but investors are also concerned about the softening real estate market and tensions related to the Middle East and North Korea.