China's economy will cool further this quarter as fiscal pump-priming starts to fade and the restocking cycle draws to a close, a government think tank said on Wednesday.

Annual gross domestic product growth will slow to 9.2 percent from 10.3 percent in the second quarter and 11.9 percent in the first, the State Information Center said in a report published in official media.

The center has previously forecast full-year growth of 9.5 percent, which would be close to the average for the past 30 years.

The forecast is in line with private-sector projections. A pair of manufacturing surveys released this week also signaled moderating growth.

China has been steering monetary policy back to normal after an unprecedented surge in credit last year fanned fears by the start of 2010 that the economy could be overheating.

The government has also clamped down hard on property speculation, fearing that prices in some cities had soared beyond the reach of most people and were feeding on themselves.

The State Information Center said other forces were at work, too.

"Owing to factors such as inventory restocking coming to an end and the tapering off of the impact of economic stimulus measures, as well as a high base effect, the country's economic growth will continue to slow in the third quarter and inflation expectations weaken," the center said.

Consumer prices are likely to rise 3 percent this quarter from a year earlier, the think tank said.