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Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) API

scientific-skills/database-lookup/references/federal-reserve.md

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Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) API

Base URL

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred

Authentication

API key required. Register at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html

Pass as query parameter: &api_key=YOUR_KEY

Key Endpoints

Get a Series (metadata)

GET /series
ParameterRequiredDescription
series_idYesFRED series ID (e.g., FEDFUNDS)
api_keyYesYour API key
file_typeNojson (default), xml

Example:

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series?series_id=FEDFUNDS&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json

Get Series Observations (the actual data points)

GET /series/observations
ParameterRequiredDescription
series_idYesFRED series ID
api_keyYesYour API key
file_typeNojson, xml
observation_startNoYYYY-MM-DD start date
observation_endNoYYYY-MM-DD end date
unitsNolin (levels), chg, ch1, pch, pc1, pca, cch, cca, log
frequencyNod, w, bw, m, q, sa, a (daily to annual)
aggregation_methodNoavg, sum, eop
sort_orderNoasc (default), desc
limitNoMax observations (default 100000)
offsetNoPagination offset

Example:

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations?series_id=FEDFUNDS&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json&observation_start=2023-01-01&observation_end=2024-01-01

Search for Series

GET /series/search
ParameterRequiredDescription
search_textYesKeywords to search
api_keyYesYour API key
file_typeNojson, xml
search_typeNofull_text (default), series_id
limitNoMax results (default 1000)
offsetNoPagination offset
order_byNosearch_rank, series_id, title, units, frequency, seasonal_adjustment, realtime_start, realtime_end, last_updated, observation_start, observation_end, popularity, group_popularity
tag_namesNoSemicolon-delimited tag filter

Example:

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/search?search_text=monetary+base&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json&limit=10

Get Categories for a Series

GET /series/categories

Example:

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/categories?series_id=FEDFUNDS&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json

Browse Categories

GET /category
GET /category/children
GET /category/series

Example (root category):

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/category?category_id=0&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json

Get Releases

GET /releases
GET /release/series

Example:

https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/release/series?release_id=10&api_key=YOUR_KEY&file_type=json

Get Tags

GET /tags
GET /series/tags

Common Series IDs

Series IDDescription
FEDFUNDSFederal Funds Effective Rate
DFFFederal Funds Rate (daily)
DGS1010-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate
DGS22-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate
M2SLM2 Money Stock
CPIAUCSLConsumer Price Index (All Urban)
UNRATEUnemployment Rate
GDPGross Domestic Product
GDPC1Real GDP
A191RL1Q225SBEAReal GDP Growth Rate (quarterly)
PAYEMSTotal Nonfarm Payrolls
T10Y2Y10Y-2Y Treasury Spread
MORTGAGE30US30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate
DTWEXBGSTrade Weighted US Dollar Index
BOGMBASEMonetary Base (total)
WALCLFed Total Assets

Response Format

Series metadata (/series)

json
{
  "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
  "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
  "seriess": [
    {
      "id": "FEDFUNDS",
      "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
      "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
      "title": "Federal Funds Effective Rate",
      "observation_start": "1954-07-01",
      "observation_end": "2024-01-01",
      "frequency": "Monthly",
      "frequency_short": "M",
      "units": "Percent",
      "units_short": "%",
      "seasonal_adjustment": "Not Seasonally Adjusted",
      "seasonal_adjustment_short": "NSA",
      "last_updated": "2024-02-01 15:51:07-06",
      "popularity": 95,
      "notes": "..."
    }
  ]
}

Observations (/series/observations)

json
{
  "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
  "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
  "observation_start": "2023-01-01",
  "observation_end": "2024-01-01",
  "units": "lin",
  "output_type": 1,
  "file_type": "json",
  "order_by": "observation_date",
  "sort_order": "asc",
  "count": 12,
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 100000,
  "observations": [
    {
      "realtime_start": "2024-01-01",
      "realtime_end": "2024-01-01",
      "date": "2023-01-01",
      "value": "4.33"
    }
  ]
}

Note: value is always a string. Missing data appears as ".".

Search results (/series/search)

json
{
  "realtime_start": "...",
  "realtime_end": "...",
  "order_by": "search_rank",
  "sort_order": "desc",
  "count": 500,
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 1000,
  "seriess": [
    {
      "id": "BOGMBASE",
      "title": "Monetary Base; Total",
      "frequency": "Bi-Weekly",
      "units": "Millions of Dollars",
      "popularity": 72,
      "notes": "..."
    }
  ]
}

Rate Limits

  • 120 requests per minute per API key.
  • No daily limit documented, but excessive use may be throttled.
  • Responses include no rate-limit headers; implement client-side throttling.