# FX Rates Scraper: ECB Reference Rates & History (`arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper`) Actor

Scrape foreign-exchange rates published by the European Central Bank: latest rates, historical series and time-series ranges across 30+ currencies. No key, no limits.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Arman Hossain](https://apify.com/arman-bd) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation, MCP servers
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.37 / 1,000 rate scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## FX Rates Scraper: ECB Reference Rates & History

![FX Rates Scraper: European Central Bank reference rates for 30+ currencies, with change percent and period high/low computed for you](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/ZQOcNAOHrIgTacAmy/records/fx-rates-scraper.jpg)

**FX Rates Scraper** pulls the European Central Bank's daily reference rates, the latest fixing, any single historical date, or a full time series, across the 30+ currencies the ECB publishes, with per-observation change and period high/low already computed.

These are the rates auditors, tax authorities and finance teams accept as the neutral source for currency conversion. This Actor reads them through the Frankfurter API, which republishes the ECB series as JSON: **no proxy setup, no browser, no credentials to manage.**

**Agent skill: [SKILL.md](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/t7YoTxpZEJOWvw4Ug/records/fx-rates-scraper.md)**

```
https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/t7YoTxpZEJOWvw4Ug/records/fx-rates-scraper.md
```

### What you get

| Output field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `date` | The fixing date **the ECB actually quoted**, which may differ from the date you asked for |
| `baseCurrency` | The currency everything is quoted against |
| `targetCurrency` | The quoted currency |
| `rate` | Units of `targetCurrency` per one `baseCurrency` |
| `series` | Convenience pair label, e.g. `EUR/USD` |
| `changePercent` | Percent move from the previous quoted date in this run's range; `null` on the first date of a series |
| `periodHigh`, `periodLow` | Highest and lowest rate for this pair across the whole requested range |
| `scrapedAt` | Run timestamp |

A `RUN_SUMMARY` record in the key-value store holds the mode used, the date span actually returned, per-series counts, and any currency that could not be resolved.

### Common use cases

- **Restate financial reports across currencies.** One fixing date, the currencies you report in.

```json
{
"baseCurrency": "EUR",
"targetCurrencies": ["USD", "GBP", "CHF", "JPY"],
"date": "2025-12-31"
}
```

- **Backtest FX exposure.** A multi-year daily series for a single pair.

```json
{
"baseCurrency": "EUR",
"targetCurrencies": ["USD"],
"fromDate": "2020-01-01",
"toDate": "2026-01-01"
}
```

- **Multi-currency invoicing.** The latest published rates for your billing currencies, on a schedule.

```json
{
"baseCurrency": "USD",
"targetCurrencies": ["EUR", "GBP", "SEK", "PLN", "CZK"]
}
```

### Quick start

Latest rates, four majors against the euro:

```json
{
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "targetCurrencies": ["USD", "GBP", "JPY", "CHF"]
}
```

A year of daily EUR/USD and EUR/GBP:

```json
{
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "targetCurrencies": ["USD", "GBP"],
 "fromDate": "2025-01-01",
 "toDate": "2025-12-31"
}
```

One historical fixing, every currency the ECB publishes:

```json
{
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "date": "2025-12-31"
}
```

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `baseCurrency` | string | `EUR` | Three-letter ISO code. EUR is the ECB's own base; any other base is derived from the EUR cross rates. |
| `targetCurrencies` | array | `[]` | Codes to quote. Empty = all 30+ published currencies. |
| `date` | string | `""` | One historical fixing, `YYYY-MM-DD`. Empty = latest. |
| `fromDate` | string | `""` | Series start, `YYYY-MM-DD`. Earliest available is `1999-01-04`. |
| `toDate` | string | `""` | Series end, `YYYY-MM-DD`. Empty = through the latest publication. |
| `maxResults` | integer | `0` | Row cap. `0` = no limit. |

**Which combinations make sense.** The three date fields pick a mode, in this order of precedence:

| You set | Mode | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| nothing | **latest** | The most recent published fixing, one row per currency |
| `date` | **single date** | That day's fixing, one row per currency |
| `fromDate` and/or `toDate` | **time series** | One row per currency per quoted day in the range |

Setting `fromDate` or `toDate` overrides `date`, the range wins. `targetCurrencies` is the multiplier to watch: a two-year range with all 30 currencies is roughly 15,000 rows, the same range with two currencies is about 1,000.

`changePercent` and `periodHigh`/`periodLow` are computed **within the range you requested**, not against all history. In latest or single-date mode there is only one observation per series, so `changePercent` is `null` and high and low both equal the rate.

### Output example

A real record from a time-series run:

```json
{
 "date": "2026-08-03",
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "targetCurrency": "USD",
 "rate": 1.1535,
 "series": "EUR/USD",
 "changePercent": 0.4354,
 "periodHigh": 1.1554,
 "periodLow": 1.1367,
 "scrapedAt": "2026-08-06T11:45:44.114Z"
}
```

`changePercent` of `0.4354` is the move from the previous **quoted** date, `2026-07-31`, not from `2026-08-02`, because the ECB does not quote at weekends.

`RUN_SUMMARY` looks like this:

```json
{
 "mode": "timeseries",
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "currenciesReturned": 2,
 "datesReturned": 8,
 "firstDate": "2026-07-27",
 "lastDate": "2026-08-05",
 "seriesSaved": 16,
 "failures": [],
 "perSeries": [
 { "series": "EUR/GBP", "dates": 8, "saved": 8, "periodHigh": 0.8572, "periodLow": 0.85524 },
 { "series": "EUR/USD", "dates": 8, "saved": 8, "periodHigh": 1.1554, "periodLow": 1.1367 }
 ],
 "filters": { "baseCurrency": "EUR", "targetCurrencies": ["USD", "GBP"], "date": "", "fromDate": "2026-07-27", "toDate": "2026-08-05", "maxResults": 0 },
 "finishedAt": "2026-08-06T11:45:44.114Z"
}
```

### Supported currencies

The ECB publishes 30 currencies against the euro: AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, DKK, GBP, HKD, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, ISK, JPY, KRW, MXN, MYR, NOK, NZD, PHP, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, ZAR, plus EUR itself as a base.

Any of these can be the base; the API rebases the euro cross rates for you. The Actor checks your codes against the live list before it fetches anything, because the API silently drops an unrecognised code rather than complaining, so a typo would otherwise just produce a missing series with no explanation.

### API example

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/arman-bd~fx-rates-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{
 "baseCurrency": "EUR",
 "targetCurrencies": ["USD", "GBP"],
 "fromDate": "2026-01-01",
 "toDate": "2026-06-30"
 }'
```

### JavaScript example

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper').call({
 baseCurrency: 'EUR',
 targetCurrencies: ['USD', 'GBP', 'JPY'],
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
for (const r of items) console.log(`${r.series} @ ${r.date}: ${r.rate}`);
```

### Limits and behaviour

- **The ECB quotes on working days only.** Rates are published once each TARGET business day around 16:00 CET. Ask for a Saturday, a Sunday or a euro-area holiday and you silently get the **previous working day's** fixing back, under that earlier date. Always read the `date` field rather than assuming you got the date you asked for. In a time series, weekends and holidays are simply absent, no gap-filling, no carry-forward.
- **Schedule after 16:00 CET.** Running earlier returns the previous day's figures. A run scheduled on a weekend produces the same rows as Friday's run.
- **History starts 1999-01-04.** Anything earlier returns HTTP 404, as does any future date. The Actor reports both with that boundary spelled out in the error.
- **Unknown currency codes are caught up front.** The API drops a symbol it does not recognise without any error, so the Actor validates against the live currency list first and records rejects in `RUN_SUMMARY.failures` instead of leaving you with a mysteriously missing series.
- **The base is never quoted against itself.** Asking for `EUR` in `targetCurrencies` with `EUR` as the base drops it; the row would always be exactly 1.
- **Transient errors are retried.** 429 and 5xx get three attempts with linear backoff. 404 is not retried, because an out-of-range date will never succeed.
- **Reference rates are not trading rates.** They are the ECB's daily snapshot for statistical and accounting use, not executable quotes. Do not price a trade off them.

### FAQ

**Do I need a proxy?** No. Proxy configuration is not required to run this Actor.

**Do I need an account or API key?** No. You supply no credentials.

**Why is the returned date not the date I asked for?** Because the ECB did not publish on that date, weekend, holiday, or a date before that day's 16:00 CET fixing. You get the most recent working day at or before your date.

**What happens if a currency is unavailable?** It is logged, added to `RUN_SUMMARY.failures`, and the run continues with the rest. The Actor only errors out if nothing at all could be fetched.

**Can I get intraday or tick data?** No. The ECB publishes one reference rate per currency per working day. Nothing finer exists in this source.

**Why is `changePercent` null on some rows?** It is the first quoted date in your requested range, so there is no previous observation to compare against. Widen `fromDate` by a few days if you need a change figure on your first date of interest.

**Are `periodHigh`/`periodLow` all-time?** No, they are the high and low **within the range you requested**, repeated on every row of that pair so you can filter to a single row and still see the range.

**Can I schedule it?** Yes. A daily run after 16:00 CET on weekdays keeps a rates table current; weekend runs are harmless but duplicate Friday.

**Can I integrate it with something else?** Yes, Apify API, client libraries, webhooks, scheduled runs, dataset exports (JSON/CSV/Excel) or MCP. Output is structured JSON.

# Actor input Schema

## `baseCurrency` (type: `string`):

The currency every rate is quoted against, as a three-letter ISO code. EUR is the ECB's own base and needs no conversion; any other base is derived by the API from the EUR cross rates. The base itself is never returned as a target. a EUR/EUR row would always be 1.

## `targetCurrencies` (type: `array`):

Three-letter ISO codes to quote against the base. USD, GBP, JPY, CHF and so on. Leave empty to get all 30+ currencies the ECB publishes, which multiplies your row count by 30. Codes the ECB does not publish are reported in RUN_SUMMARY rather than silently dropped.

## `date` (type: `string`):

One historical fixing date as YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty for the most recent publication. The ECB quotes on working days only, so a weekend or holiday date returns the previous working day's fixing. check the returned 'date' field, not the one you asked for.

## `fromDate` (type: `string`):

Start of a time series as YYYY-MM-DD. The ECB reference series begins 1999-01-04; anything earlier returns nothing. Setting this (or the end date) switches the run into time-series mode and overrides the single date.

## `toDate` (type: `string`):

End of the time series as YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty to run through to the latest publication.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many rows. A multi-year series across all currencies runs to tens of thousands of rows. a full 2024-2026 range for every currency is about 19,800. Set 0 for no limit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "baseCurrency": "USD",
  "targetCurrencies": [
    "USD",
    "GBP",
    "SEK",
    "PLN"
  ],
  "date": "2026-01-15",
  "fromDate": "2026-01-01",
  "toDate": "2026-06-30",
  "maxResults": 0
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `items` (type: `string`):

Every record the run produced.

## `runsummary` (type: `string`):

The RUN_SUMMARY record from the run's key-value store.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "baseCurrency": "EUR",
    "targetCurrencies": [
        "USD",
        "GBP",
        "JPY",
        "CHF"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "baseCurrency": "EUR",
    "targetCurrencies": [
        "USD",
        "GBP",
        "JPY",
        "CHF",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "baseCurrency": "EUR",
  "targetCurrencies": [
    "USD",
    "GBP",
    "JPY",
    "CHF"
  ]
}' |
apify call arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,arman-bd/fx-rates-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/XGY4tM37YQzyoqN9k/builds/x4kwhXQe34IbtwWcm/openapi.json