Historical Rates API

Fetch historical exchange rates for a specified date and base currency.

Endpoint

GET /historical_rates

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
base	string	Yes	Base currency code (ISO 4217) - e.g., USD, EUR, GBP
date	string	Yes	Date in YYYY-MM-DD format - e.g., 2024-01-15
targets	string	No	Comma-separated target currencies. Defaults to all if omitted.

Request Example

curl -X GET "https://api.openfxrates.com/historical_rates?base=USD&date=2024-01-15&targets=EUR,GBP,JPY" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"

Response Schema

{
  "base": "USD",
  "date": "2024-01-15",
  "rates": {
    "EUR": 0.89,
    "GBP": 0.76,
    "JPY": 145.30
  }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
base	string	The base currency code
date	string	The requested date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
rates	object	Historical exchange rates for that date

Status Codes

Status	Description
200	Success - Historical rates returned
400	Bad Request - Invalid date or parameters
401	Unauthorized - Invalid or missing API key
404	Not Found - No data for specified date
429	Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded
500	Server Error - Internal error

Examples

Get rates for a specific date

curl -X GET "https://api.openfxrates.com/historical_rates?base=USD&date=2024-01-15" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"

Get historical rates for specific currencies

curl -X GET "https://api.openfxrates.com/historical_rates?base=EUR&date=2024-06-30&targets=USD,GBP,JPY" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"

Date Range Support

• Available Data: 1999-01-01 to present
• Weekends & Holidays: Market rates from previous trading day
• Future Dates: Not available

Use Cases

• 📊 Financial Analysis - Analyze exchange rate trends over time
• 📈 Backtesting - Test trading strategies with historical data
• 💼 Reporting - Generate accurate historical reports
• 🧮 Reconciliation - Match historical transactions

Performance Tips

1. Cache historical data - It never changes
2. Batch requests for date ranges using multiple concurrent requests
3. Request only needed currencies to reduce payload size

Rate Limiting

Same as Latest Rates API. Check response headers for limit info.

See Also

• Latest Rates API - Get real-time rates
• Currency Conversion API - Convert amounts
• List Currencies - Supported currencies