WRAPUP 2-Argentina's current account surplus shrinks 66 pct

* Third-quarter current account surplus falls 66 percent

* November trade surplus jumps 73 percent (Adds analysts' quotes, details on investment returns)

By Helen Popper

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Argentina's current account surplus shrank 66 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, dented by falling exports and bigger dividend payments, the government said on Tuesday.

The current account is the broadest measure of a country's foreign transactions, encompassing trade, services and an array of financial flows including interest payments. Analysts use the data to gauge reliance on foreign capital.

Argentina's current account surplus was $1.14 billion in the third quarter, down from $3.35 billion a year ago, the INDEC national statistics agency said.

Capital flight slowed sharply in the quarter, with net outflows of $286 million from the nonfinancial private sector compared with $4.26 billion in the previous quarter.

The surplus was affected by a smaller June-September trade surplus and bigger outflows of investment earnings such as dividends, which rose 30 percent from the same period a year ago to $2.45 billion.

In the second quarter, the country's balance of payments more than quintupled as imports slumped.

"Overall, the current account should remain well supported ... due to the anchoring effect of the very large decline in the absorption of imports driven by the decline of domestic demand," Alberto Ramos, senior economist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a briefing note.

He estimated the current account surplus for 2009 at 3 percent of gross domestic product, up from 2.2 percent last year.

November's trade balance data showed the rate of decline in imports slowed dramatically.

The monthly trade surplus widened 73 percent to $1.29 billion as exports rose for the first time this year while imports kept falling, a trend that has allowed Latin America's No. 3 economy to maintain trade surpluses this year.

Export earnings rose 1.0 percent in November from the same month in 2008 as the country's key shipments of farm goods picked up slightly, along with fuel and energy exports that were boosted by higher prices.

Imports fell 12 percent, far less than in previous months and underscoring signs that the country's economy is over the worst of the global slowdown.

Tuesday's trade balance figure confirmed the number given last week by President Cristina Fernandez, who frequently cites the trade surplus as a sign of the economy's health. (Additional reporting by Guido Nejamkis; Editing by Leslie Adler)