The rupee depreciated 33 paise on Wednesday and settled at a nearly one-month low of Rs. 82.59 per US dollar due to demand for safe-haven currencies after the US’ credit rating was downgraded by Fitch from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’, citing an “expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years”.
This led to risk aversion sentiment among investors, said dealers, adding that the dollar demand by oil companies was also a reason for the currency to weaken.