MUMBAI, Feb 9 Reuters The Indian rupee weakened on Friday, pressured by dollar demand from staterun banks and importers, but traders expect the downside to be contained as sharp upticks on the dollarrupee pair are likely to attract offers.

The rupee was at 82.9925 against the U.S. dollar as of 1030 a.m. IST, slightly lower compared with its close of 82.9550 in the previous session.

The dollar index was last quoted at 104.2. It hit a high of 104.43 on Thursday after data showed that initial claims for unemployment in the U.S. dropped more than expected in the week ended Feb. 3, signalling strength in the county39;s labour market.

Dollar demand from staterun banks alongside the jump in oil prices weighed on the rupee in early trading on Friday, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.

Brent crude oil futures were quoted at 81.6 per barrel after rising 3 on Thursday after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas.

But a sell on upticks, bias on the dollarrupee pair should help limit the local currency39;s decline on Friday, Apurva Swarup, vice president at Shinhan Bank India said

Meanwhile, policymakers at the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to push back on market expectations of early rate cuts.

I will need more, additional evidence to confirm inflation is trending toward the Fed39;s 2 goal, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Susan Collins said on Thursday while referring to the timing of potential Fed rate cuts.

Though delaying cuts until the…