Investor optimism dipped slightly in July, slipping two points to a level of 87, according to the UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism. The Index is conducted monthly and had a baseline score of 124 when it was established in October 1996.

The record performance of the equity markets during the first half of July fueled a rise in the Personal Dimension of the Index, which measures investors’ optimism about their individual investment portfolios, causing it to increase four points to 71. In contrast, the Economic Dimension, which measures investors’ optimism about the US economy, fell six points to 16, suggesting that investors are more cautious about the outlook for the economy over the next 12 months.

“Despite the sharp rise in the stock market this summer, investors are showing concern about the health of the overall US economy given the ongoing weakness in the housing market, rising food and energy prices, and turmoil in the sub-prime mortgage market,” said Maury Harris, Chief US Economist, UBS Investment Bank.

Energy prices continue to worry investors with seven in ten respondents saying they believe energy prices are hurting the current investment climate “a lot.” This number is down somewhat from the 76 percent in May and 73 percent in June who held this view. Still, investor concern remains well above the 63 percent in March and 58 percent in February who felt this way.

Investors on average report paying $2.96 for a gallon of gas during the first half of July and say that they expect this to rise to an average of $3.12 over the next three months. Not surprisingly given the expectations of higher gas prices during the months ahead, 49 percent of investors say they plan to cut back on their summer driving, 40 percent expect to cut back on vacations and 62 percent said they will reduce spending in general.

International tensions remain among the greatest concerns of investors with 55 percent of investors pointing to this issue as hurting the investment climate “a lot.” Investors are also increasingly concerned about the federal budget deficit, with 53 percent pointing to it as hurting the investment climate “a lot,” up from 48 percent in June. The issue of illegal immigration continues to worry investors, with 45 percent saying it hurts the investment climate, unchanged from last month.

Local real estate remains a concern among investors, with 60 percent saying that conditions in their local community’s residential market are getting worse, not getting better. This is up from 58 percent who held this view last month. Forty-one percent say that they are worried about the potential for a real estate crash in some local markets, up from 38 percent in June. Investors also worry about the problems in the sub-prime mortgage market spreading, as four in ten investors say that they are worried about a potential consumer credit crunch.

These findings are part of the 112th Index of Investor Optimism, which was conducted July 1-12, 2007. To track and measure Index changes on an ongoing basis, new samplings are taken monthly.

Dennis J. Jacobe, Chief Economist for Gallup, said the sampling included 800 investors randomly selected from across the country. For this study, the American investor is defined as any person who is head of a household or a spouse in any household with total savings and investments of $10,000 or more. Nearly 40 percent of American households have at least this amount in savings and investments.