MUMBAI, Nov 23 Reuters The Indian rupee was little changed on Thursday as continued dollar demand from domestic oil companies and importers offset the relief from IPOrelated inflows and easing oil prices.

The rupee was 83.33 as of 1050 a.m. against the U.S. dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.32 in the previous session.

Asian currencies were mixed as the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah weakened, but the offshore Chinese yuan rose 0.2 to 7.1491.

Oil companies have been buying at all levels and importer demand is also holding up, a foreign exchange salesperson at a private bank said.

The dollar index last quoted lower in Asia at 103.72, but staged a slight recovery overnight on Wednesday after initial jobless claims data fell more than expected last week.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to 209,000 for the week ended Nov. 18. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 226,000 claims for the latest week.

Brent crude oil futures were last quoted lower at 80.98 after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and allies, including Russia, delayed a meeting where they were expected to discuss oil output cuts.

The rupee is likely to have a quiet session on Thursday on account of muted dollar liquidity due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, said Gaurang Somaiya, an FX and rates researcher at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

But the bias is slightly tilted towards appreciation till next week as IPO inflows…