THE yuan is likely to appreciate even further this week after strong economic figures from September, according to traders.

The currency settled at 7.4961 against the United States dollar on Friday, up from 7.5080 a week earlier. The yuan has gained about 10 percent since China dropped its decade-long peg of the currency to the greenback on July 21, 2005.

China's economy grew to 11.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, broadly in line with market expectations. It grew more slowly than a 12-year high of 11.9 percent in the second quarter, the statistics bureau said on Thursday. Consumer prices, the main gauge of inflation, jumped 6.2 percent from September last year, down from the August 6.5 percent growth.

However, the economy is still in the fast lane, triggering more austerity moves from the government. A more valuable yuan will add to the costs for foreign investment in China and counter inflation.