Historical Rates API

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

Endpoint

GET /historical_rates

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
baseCurrency	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
targetCurrencies	string	No	Comma-separated target currencies. Defaults to all if omitted.

Request Example

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

Response Schema

{
  "status": "SUCCESS",
  "data": {
    "base_currency": "USD",
    "rates": {
      "EUR": 0.861166,
      "GBP": 0.746252,
      "JPY": 158.11890909
    },
    "timestamp": "2026-01-22T11:34:57.294Z",
    "meta_data": {
      "monthly_requests": 100000,
      "remaining_requests": 99998,
      "reset_time": null
    }
  }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
status	string	Request status (SUCCESS or FAILED)
data	object	Response data container
base_currency	string	The base currency code
rates	object	Historical exchange rates for the specified date
timestamp	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of the response
meta_data	object	API usage information
meta_data.monthly_requests	number	Total monthly request limit
meta_data.remaining_requests	number	Remaining requests for the month
meta_data.reset_time	string/null	When the limit resets

Status Codes

Status	Description
200	Success - Historical rates returned
400	Bad Request - Invalid date format or currency code
401	Unauthorized - Invalid or missing API key
429	Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded

Examples

Get rates for a specific date

curl -X GET "https://api.openfxrates.com/historical_rates?baseCurrency=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?baseCurrency=EUR&date=2024-06-30&targetCurrencies=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

Rate limit information is included in every response under meta_data:

• monthly_requests - Total requests allowed per month
• remaining_requests - Requests remaining this month
• reset_time - When the limit resets (if applicable)

See Also

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