UPDATE 1- US net capital inflows fall in December

By Vivianne Rodrigues

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Total net overall capital inflows into the United States fell by more than half to $60.4 billion in December, from a revised $150.8 billion in November, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

December's inflows were more than sufficient to cover the month's U.S. trade deficit of $58.76 billion.

Net long-term capital inflows totaled $56.5 billion compared with $90.9 billion in November. Economists polled by Reuters expected net-long capital inflows to fall to $66 billion.

Net-long inflows were "slightly below expectations but if you look at the three month print it is still up, and from that perspective quite encouraging," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

The dollar and the U.S. Treasury market showed little reaction to the U.S. capital inflows release.

"From a market perspective, the data is dated and should have limited impact," Strauss added.

Overall official net purchases of U.S securities totaled $35.8 billion in December, the highest since March 2004, according to the report.

Data showed that official foreign institutions purchased a net $11 billion in U.S. Treasuries in December, from $400 million in November.