Do you want to learn as a developer how to use an API to track the pricing of Newcastle coal futures? This post will go into greater detail about it.

Coal is one of the most important fossil fuels in the world. It is widely used to generate electricity and heat. It is also used to manufacture steel, cement, and chemicals. Coal is one of the most abundant fossil fuels, but it is also one of the most polluting.

If you’re still unclear about what an API is, let us explain: interface for application programming. APIs provide communication interfaces for a variety of services and applications. An API functions by giving another system or application access to information or features that they would not otherwise have. Because APIs are crucial for connecting external systems into larger systems or applications, many industries, including the worldwide coal sector, employ them. Here, we’re referring to the Coal Prices API, which offers details on the Newcastle coal market’s current situation.

The main advantages of coal are its high energy content per unit, its low cost, its availability in many places around the world, its high calorific value (the amount of heat released when it burns), its ease of use, and its portability.

Coal can be used for electricity generation (coal-fired power plants), heating (coal-fired boilers), or industrial processes such as steel production (coal-fired furnaces).

Coal can be classified by its chemical composition into three main categories: bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, and anthracite. The first two are mined using surface mining techniques; anthracite is mined using underground mining methods.

Commodities API

Developers can get real-time data on valued commodities through the Commodities API, which is offered by more than 10 different exchange rate data providers for commodities pricing. The API contains numerous endpoints, each of which serves a distinct purpose. The endpoint can send API requests for data on one or more currencies, data on daily changes, value conversion, and time series data for one or more currencies. It can also send API requests for the most recent commodity rate information for all or a selected subset of currencies.

Depending on the commodity you’re looking for, this API will provide you with a variety of replies. In this instance, we’re interested in finding out more about coal. The coal symbol offered by the API (COAL) can be used to look up information about it:

{"data":{"success":true,"timestamp":1683666360,"date":"2023-05-09","base":"USD","rates":{"COAL":0.008},"unit":{"COAL":"per tonne"}}}

One dollar is equal to 0.008 tonnes of coal, as you can see in the response.

All You Have To Do To Utilize It Is:

• Go to Commodities API and simply sign up, when you are done you’ll be ready to start using the API!
• Employ the different API endpoints using the symbols given by the API depending on what you are looking for.
• Once you meet your needed endpoint, make the API call by pressing the button “run” and see the results on your screen.

The Agriculture Rates API offers data with a two-decimal place precision in more than 170 different currencies. You can perform up to 100.000 API requests each month and receive data updates every 60 seconds, depending on the subscription you choose. This API also comes with a seven-day trial period.