Python Get the real time currency exchange rate?

Python is excellent at handling API calls for retrieving real-time and historical currency exchange rates. This article demonstrates two primary methods: using the forex-python module and making direct API calls.

Using forex-python Module

The forex-python module provides the most direct way to get currency conversion rates. It offers simple functions that accept currency codes and return conversion rates.

Real-time Exchange Rates

Here's how to get live currency conversion rates ?

from forex_python.converter import CurrencyRates

c = CurrencyRates()

# Get USD to GBP conversion rate
rate = c.get_rate('USD', 'GBP')
print(f"1 USD = {rate} GBP")

1 USD = 0.7357387755 GBP

Historical Currency Rates

You can retrieve historical exchange rates by adding a datetime object to specify the date ?

from forex_python.converter import CurrencyRates
import datetime

c = CurrencyRates()

# Get historical rate for March 27, 2020
historical_date = datetime.datetime(2020, 3, 27, 11, 21, 13, 114505)
rate = c.get_rate('USD', 'INR', historical_date)
print(f"1 USD = {rate} INR on {historical_date.date()}")

1 USD = 75.4937596793 INR on 2020-03-27

Using Web API

Many APIs provide currency rates through HTTP requests. The response is typically in JSON format, which can be easily processed in Python ?

import requests

# Replace 'your_api_key_here' with actual API key
url = 'https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/your_api_key_here/latest/USD'

try:
    response = requests.get(url)
    data = response.json()
    
    if data['result'] == 'success':
        rates = data['conversion_rates']
        print(f"USD to EUR: {rates['EUR']}")
        print(f"USD to GBP: {rates['GBP']}")
        print(f"USD to JPY: {rates['JPY']}")
    else:
        print("Error fetching data")
        
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
    print(f"Request failed: {e}")

Parsing Specific Currency Rates

You can extract specific currency rates from the API response ?

import json

# Sample JSON response (shortened for demonstration)
json_data = '''
{
    "result": "success",
    "base_code": "USD",
    "conversion_rates": {
        "USD": 1,
        "EUR": 0.8532,
        "GBP": 0.7357,
        "JPY": 109.65,
        "INR": 74.12
    }
}
'''

data = json.loads(json_data)
rates = data['conversion_rates']

# Display specific rates
currencies = ['EUR', 'GBP', 'JPY', 'INR']
for currency in currencies:
    print(f"1 USD = {rates[currency]} {currency}")

1 USD = 0.8532 EUR
1 USD = 0.7357 GBP
1 USD = 109.65 JPY
1 USD = 74.12 INR

Comparison of Methods

Conclusion

Use forex-python for quick prototyping and simple currency conversions. For production applications requiring more control and features, consider direct API calls with proper error handling and rate limiting.