* Overall capital inflows rise, long-term inflows dip
* Foreign demand for Treasuries remains strong
* Central banks net Treasury purchases hit record (Adds details, comment, byline)
By Steven C. Johnson
NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Foreigners retained a healthy appetite for U.S. government debt in September and were also net buyers of short-term securities such as Treasury bills, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
Overall net inflows into the United States, including short-term instruments, rose to $81.7 billion, compared to a downwardly revised $11.2 billion inflow in August.
Net long-term inflows fell to $81 billion from $128.7 billion, with Treasury debt attracting the most interest. Foreigners bought a net $78.3 billion in Treasuries, below August's $117.1 billion inflow but still the third highest monthly total this year.
Treasury yields fell in September after the Federal Reserve hinted that it was ready to pump more money into the economy through direct purchases of longer-dated Treasury debt. It made good on its promise this month, pledging to spend $600 billion by the middle of next year.
"I was impressed with the foreign demand for Treasuries, which remained very strong despite strong demand the prior month," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York. "We expected some comeuppance but didn't get it."
CENTRAL BANKS BIG BUYERS
Demand was almost evenly split between private investors and foreign central banks, though the latter group's $39.5 billion in net purchases was a record, Treasury said.
That, Woolfolk said, was the "dark side" of the report, as it reflected foreign central banks' efforts to limit local currency appreciation by buying dollars and recycling them into U.S. Treasury debt.
China, the No. 1 holder of Treasuries, increased purchases by $15.1 billion to $883.5 billion, while Japan bought a net $28.4 billion of Treasuries in September, bringing its total holdings to $865 billion.
"We do like to see foreign demand for our securities and bonds, but ideally we'd like to see it coming from private sources rather than official sources," Woolfolk said.
Governments have clashed over exchange rates and unbalanced global growth this year. The United States has urged China to intervene less and allow faster currency appreciation, while Beijing and other developing countries claim loose U.S. monetary policy is stoking inflation beyond U.S. borders.
"There has been a great outcry that the Fed's signaling of quantitative easing last August triggered large capital outflows from the United States, driving the dollar down and overwhelming emerging market countries, forcing them to erect capital controls," Brown Brothers Harriman strategist Marc Chandler said in New York. "The Treasury data does not confirm that."
In the year to September, though, China's Treasury holdings have dipped about 5.8 percent, while Japan's holdings rose 15.7 percent. Chinese officials have expressed interest in diversifying some of the country's $2.65 trillion reserves into the euro, yen and other currencies.
For a graphic, see: http://r.reuters.com/mux65q
EQUITY DEMAND REBOUNDS
Unlike official investors, private foreign accounts were net buyers of U.S. equities in September to the tune of $21.5 billion, well above a $4.5 billion inflow in August. Total net equity purchases amounted to $20.7 billion, as official buyers were marginal net sellers of stocks.
Foreign demand for U.S. corporate debt fell sharply, with net inflows amounting to just $578 million, down from $10 billion the prior month.
The United States saw a net outflow of $8.2 billion from securities issued or guaranteed by the biggest U.S. mortgage financing agencies.
But analysts noted that the country attracted a modest net inflow into short-term instruments such as Treasury bills and deposits. Those are securities that have tended to show outflows in recent months, as investors shun near-zero U.S. short-term interest rates in favor of higher returns abroad. (Editing by James Dalgleish)