With the United States being one of the biggest markets in the world, it’s clear that you have to stay updated on every commodity price in USD. If you’re interested in corn rates, here we tell you where to get them for free using an API.
Nowadays, corn is the most significant crop in the United States, with roughly 400 million tons produced in 2018. China came in second with nearly 250 million tons, followed by Brazil with 82 million tons2. Corn output was 1.15 billion tons worldwide in 2018, which clearly shows that it is one of the biggest commodities and that it is wise to invest in it.
Nevertheless, it’s important to notice that its price changes constantly and not staying updated on them can make you lose money. For that, you need to check on hourly real-time, spot, and historical corn rates. This can be possible to achieve through an API, which is an interface that links two computers or applications so they can communicate and give you the information needed when you ask for it.
The results of the API are done in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), a programming language and the most common sed data format for web data transport. This data interchange might take place between two computer programs that are running in different geographical locations or on the same system. JSON is both human and machine-understandable. While programs and libraries can read JSON documents, humans can also examine the data and infer meaning from it.
How To Get An API
To get an API, you need to access a software that provides you with it. For this example, we will use Commodities-API, the best tool for commodities rates. It allows you to check on some commodities in any currency you wish. For that, you need to:
1. Enter www.commodities-API.com and sign in to get your own API key.
2. Search for the symbols of corn and United States dollars. These are CORN 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 all you need to do. The API answer will look something like this:
{
"success": true,
"timestamp": 1519296206,
"base": "CORN",
"date": "2018-09-10",
"rates": {
"USD": 1.23396,
[...]
}
}
Is This Information Safe?
Commodities-API gathers information from banks and stock exchanges and uses it to provide you with the most up-to-date and secure information. Furthermore, it employs bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption to protect your connection’s security at all times. Only midpoint data for commodities and currency rates is provided via the API. The midpoint is calculated using the average median rate of Bid and Ask during a specified period.
Also published on Medium.