(Adds first-quarter figures)
BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's foreign debt increased $23.9 billion in the second quarter to reach $360.6 billion at the end of June, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Tuesday.
However, over the course of the first six months, the foreign debt total was down 3.76 percent, SAFE said on its website, www.safe.gov.cn.
Short-term debt rose to $194.4 billion at the end of June from $173.5 billion at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 12 percent, but it was down 7.79 percent from the end of 2008, the agency added.
Short-term debt accounted for 53.9 percent of the total on June 30, up from 51.5 percent three months earlier, SAFE said. (Reporting by Aileen Wang and Alan Wheatley; Editing by Ken Wills)