Are you searching for an API that provides you with WTI crude oil historical rates? Here, we show you how it works.
To find this type of price online, you first need to have in mind that WTI crude oil is not the same thing as Brent crude oil. These two are the two largest trading classifications of crude oil. Brent is an oil extracted from the North Sea, which borders the United Kingdom and Norway, whereas WTI Crude is extracted in the United States. The majority of the oil in the United States is centered in Texas, North Dakota, and New Mexico.
There is also a difference in the composition of every oil because they have different sulfur and API gravity, which can have a direct impact on the prices. While WTI has 0.24 percent sulfur, Brent contains 0.37 percent sulfur. The lower the sulfur level of the oils, the sweeter the oil and easier it is to refine. WTI and Brent are both classified as sweet crude.
With this in mind, you can now search for the rates you are looking for. For this, it can be highly useful to use an API, which is an interface that gathers information from a place and then provides it to you instantly. With this, you can request WTI crude oil rates and then obtain the price in the currency you selected.
However, have in mind that not every API available online can offer you historical data. This is foreign exchange rates that demonstrate to businesses how a currency pair traded in the past. These are the accounting costs recorded in the books, which reflect the cost of the item at the time it was acquired rather than its current value. This allows you to predict how the commodity will behave in the future based on what has happened in the past.
How To Obtain An API
With all that explained, we can now show you where to get a good API and how to use it. There are a few available for commodities rates but, for this example, we will use what we think is the most complete one: Commodities-API, a free online API that allows you to track a wide range of products such as oil, coffee, rice, sugar, and wheat.
To use it, you need to:
1. Go to www.commodities-API.com and sign up to obtain your personal API key.
2. Look for the WTI crude oil symbol and the currency you desire to obtain the information on.
3. Locate the commodity and money in the list using these symbols, then choose the period of time you want. Make the API call after you’ve decided on them.
4. The website will deliver an API in a variety of programming languages that you may modify and use any way you see fit.
The outcome of historical rates will look like this:
{
"success": true,
"historical": true,
"date": "2013-12-24",
"timestamp": 1387929599,
"base": "WTIOIL",
"rates": {
"USD": 1.636492,
"EUR": 1.196476,
"CAD": 1.739516
}
}
Is this trustworthy?
Absolutely. Commodities-API collects data from banks and stock exchanges and utilizes it to provide you with the most current and secure information. Furthermore, it employs bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption to safeguard your connection’s security at all times. Only midpoint data for commodities and currency rates are provided via the API. The midpoint is determined by taking the average median rate of Bid and Ask for a certain time period.
Also published on Medium.