FX Rate Data Providers¶

Sources for historical and real-time foreign exchange data.

Free Data Sources¶

European Central Bank (ECB)¶

Coverage: EUR against 40+ currencies Frequency: Daily (business days) Historical: From 1999 Format: XML, CSV

import requests
import pandas as pd

def fetch_ecb_rates(start_date, end_date):
    """Fetch ECB FX rates."""
    url = "https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/D..EUR.SP00.A"
    # Add date parameters and parse response
    # Returns DataFrame with rates
    pass

Federal Reserve¶

Coverage: USD against major currencies Frequency: Daily Historical: Extensive API: FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

OANDA¶

Coverage: 190+ currencies Frequency: Daily (free), intraday (paid) Historical: Limited on free tier Format: JSON API

Commercial Providers¶

Bloomberg¶

Coverage: All major and exotic pairs Frequency: Real-time tick data Historical: Decades of data Access: Terminal or API (expensive)

Refinitiv¶

Coverage: Comprehensive FX data Frequency: Real-time Features: Bid/ask spreads, order book Access: Enterprise license

AlphaVantage¶

Coverage: 150+ currencies Frequency: Daily (free), intraday (premium) API: REST JSON Limits: 25 requests/day (free)

def fetch_alphavantage_fx(from_currency, to_currency, api_key):
    """Fetch FX rate from AlphaVantage."""
    url = f"https://www.alphavantage.co/query"
    params = {
        'function': 'FX_DAILY',
        'from_symbol': from_currency,
        'to_symbol': to_currency,
        'apikey': api_key
    }
    # Returns JSON with daily rates
    pass

Data Quality Considerations¶

Bid/Ask Spreads: Free sources typically only provide mid rates
Update Frequency: Real-time vs end-of-day
Historical Depth: How far back data is available
Reliability: Data gaps and corrections
Licensing: Commercial use restrictions