Are you trying to find an API that provides you cotton rates in USD but you don’t know how? Here we explain to you everything you need to know.
Cotton is something we’ve all seen a million times on a daily basis. However, you may be unaware of how crucial this commodity is to the world economy. In 2019, China produced the most cotton, accounting for 24 million tons. India came in second with 19 and the United States came in third with approximately 19. This demonstrates how vital it is to invest in this commodity on a global scale.
To achieve this properly, you must be familiar with its pricing in many currencies. This may be performed through the use of an API, which is a link that allows two computers or programs to interact with one another. When you submit a request to an API, you will receive an immediate answer. An API often delivers data in programming languages such as JSON and Python.
With the United States being one of the world’s largest marketplaces, it’s obvious that you need to remain up to speed on all commodity prices in USD. But how can you get this type of data? Well, to obtain the API you need to access a software that provides you with it.
How APIs Work
There are many APIs available that will give you cotton rates in USD. However, for this example, so you can understand better, we will use Commodities-API, one of the most complete ones since It allows you to check on commodities like rice, wheat, corn, among others, in any currency you wish.
To obtain the information, you need to:
1. Enter www.commodities-API.com and sign in to get your own API key.
2. Search for the symbols of cotton and United States dollars. These are COTTON and USD.
3. Use these symbols to find the commodity and currency in the list. Once you choose them, make the API call.
4. The website will return you an API in various programming languages that you can adapt and use however you like.
And that’s it! The API answer will look something like this:
{
"success": true,
"timestamp": 1519296206,
"base": "COTTON",
"date": "2018-09-10",
"rates": {
"USD": 1.23396,
[...]
}
}
Where Does This Information Come From?
It comes from banks and the stock market. Commodities-API gets that data and gives it to you with 2 decimal points of accuracy. It also uses bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption to protect your security.
Commodities-API provides midpoint data that is calculated by using the average median rate of Bid and ask during a specific time period. Currency and commodity price conversions are handled by the same API endpoints and may be used to convert any amount from one currency to another, or from one commodity to any commodity, or from any currency to any currency.
Also published on Medium.