Subject Guides: Business: Exchange Rates: Historical Foreign Exchange Rate (2024)

One of the most important sources for finding Historical Foreign Exchange information is the central bank or monetary authority of each country. A list of the central banks is available at the website of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS): http://www.bis.org/cbanks.htm . Some central banks providing historical foreign exchange rate data include:

US - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Foreign Exchange Rates H.10 Archive:

It provides an archive of historical H.10 releases. The H.10 release contains daily bilateral exchange rates and nominal dollar indexes from the previous week.

• Data Source: The data are noon buying rates in New York for cable transfers payable in the listed currencies. The information is based on data collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from a sample of market participants. The rates have been certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for customs purposes

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 1996-Present

• Periodicity: daily

• Currency Coverage: 24

• Base Currency: US dollar

• Format: HTML

Reminder: Be advised that past releases are not revised and may not reflect subsequent revisions to the data.

Country Data:

Daily bilateral exchange rates for selected countries

• Data Source: as above

  See Also

  Historical Exchange Rates

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 1971-Present

• Periodicity: daily

• Currency Coverage: 24

• Base Currency: US dollar

• Format: HTML

Data Download Program:

The Data Download Program is designed to allow flexible access to data produced by the Federal Reserve Board. Most data associated with the Board's statistical releases listed on the Statistics & Historical Data page are currently available, and more are added regularly.

How to Use: Please see User Guide

• Data Source: as above

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 1971-Present if available

• Periodicity: daily (business day), monthly or annual

• Currency Coverage: 24

• Base Currency: US dollar

• Format: CSV, Excel, XML

• Features: flexible selection by country, date range, frequency and formats

US - Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Foreign Exchange Rates Historical Search:

• Date Source: it includes 10 AM Rates and 12 Noon Buying Rates. Daily 10 am spot rates are midpoints of buying rates and selling rates, and do not necessarily reflect rates at which actual transactions have occurred.Daily 12 noon buying rates in New York are certified by the New York Federal Reserve Bank for customs purposes.

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 10/05/1993 to 12/31/2008 (The New York Fed discontinued the publication of foreign exchange rates since December 31, 2008.)

• Periodicity: daily

• Currency Coverage: 36

• Base Currency: US dollar

• Format: Excel, XML

US - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Exchange Rates:

• Date Source: it contains data from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System H.10, G5 and G5A and Transitional Euro Country Exchange Rates data from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 1971-Present if available

• Periodicity: daily, monthly and annual

• Currency Coverage: 34

• Base Currency: US dollar

• Format: Excel, Text; PDF, Graphs (PNG, JPG, SVG)

• Features: data visualization function and multiple data export options.

UK - Bank of England

Statistical Interactive Database: - interest & exchange rates data and daily spot rates platform

• Data Source: indicative middle market (mean of spot buying and selling) rates as observed by the Bank's Foreign Exchange Desk in the London interbank market around 4pm.

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: 1963-Present if available

• Periodicity: daily, month average, end month, quarterly average, end quarter, annual average, end year

• Currency Coverage: against £ sterling(44) against US dollars(45) against EURO (14)

• Base Currency: Sterling; US dollar; EURO

• Format: CSV, Excel, HTML, XML

Reminder: They are not 'official' rates and are no more authoritative than rates provided by any commercial bank operating in the London market. Spot rates are applicable to deals executed for settlement two working days later.

Canada - Bank of Canada

Exchange Rate:

Including three platforms: Daily Noon Exchange Rates: 10-Year Lookup; 10-Year Currency Converter; CAD-USD Exchange Rate Lookup

• Data Source: The noon exchange rate for the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar is calculated to reflect the trades that take place between 11:59 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. All other Canadian dollar noon exchange rates are derived from the US$/Can$ exchange rate and from indicative wholesale market quotes for a broad array of other currencies. All Bank of Canada exchange rates are indicative rates only, obtained from averages of transaction prices and price quotes from financial institutions.

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: past ten years; CAD-USD All-Time Low/High October 1950 - Present

• Periodicity: daily

• Currency Coverage: 60+

• Base Currency: CAD; Convertible

• Format: SDMX, XML, CSV

Reminder: Bank of Canada exchange rates are released for statistical and analytical purposes only and are not intended to be used as the benchmark rate for executing foreign exchange trades. The Bank of Canada does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of these exchange rates

Australia - Reserve Bank of Australia

Historical Data: Exchange Rate:

• Data Source: Since 1 July 2008, the rate shown for the US dollar is the WM/Reuters Australian Dollar Fix at 4.00 pm (Sydney) on the day concerned, sourced from page AUDFIX on Thomson Reuters and rounded to four decimals. Prior to that, the rate shown for the US dollar was the Reserve Bank's observation of mid-points of buying and selling rates quoted at 4.00 pm (Sydney) on the day concerned. Rates shown for most other currencies are calculated by crossing the rate for the US dollar with the Reserve Bank’s observations of mid-points of buying and selling rates quoted around the same time.

• Data Digits: rounded to four significant digits

• Data Range: Daily rates:1983-Present; Monthly rates: 1969-Present

• Periodicity: daily, monthly

• Currency Coverage: 25

• Base Currency: AUD

• Format: Excel, CSV (monthly)