africaAPI

Guides

Commodities

Use benchmark commodity prices from country signals to add current market context without leaving the API.

Commodity Benchmarks In Africa API

Africa API exposes benchmark commodity prices through country signals.

Use:

  • GET /v1/countries/{country_code}/signals

The commodity_benchmarks block is designed for current context, not country-specific supply or production measurement.

What It Contains

Current benchmark series include:

  • crude_oil_benchmark_usd_per_bbl
  • natural_gas_europe_benchmark_usd_per_mmbtu
  • maize_benchmark_usd_per_mt
  • rice_benchmark_usd_per_mt
  • wheat_benchmark_usd_per_mt

These are global reference prices sourced from the World Bank Pink Sheet monthly workbook.

How To Use It

Use benchmark commodities when you want:

  • quick pricing context in a country dashboard
  • current cost-pressure context alongside inflation and FX
  • a simple commodity reference layer for applications and agents

Do not treat these as local retail or domestic producer prices.

Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/countries/ng/signals" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Look for:

  • commodity_benchmarks[].commodity_key
  • commodity_benchmarks[].price_value
  • commodity_benchmarks[].price_date

When To Use A Different Source

If you need:

  • local pump prices
  • local food basket prices
  • domestic farm-gate prices

then benchmark commodities are not enough. Those should come from country-specific operational sources, not the benchmark layer.

Signals

See the country snapshot endpoint that returns benchmark commodities.

Economy

Combine benchmarks with inflation, FX, and policy signals.

Agriculture

Use agricultural indicators alongside benchmark prices for broader context.

Economy

Use indicators and data endpoints to work with GDP, inflation, unemployment, and other macro signals.

Central Banks

Use Africa API signals and data endpoints for current central-bank policy rates, benchmark rates, and monthly inflation signals.

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Commodity Benchmarks In Africa APIWhat It ContainsHow To Use ItExampleWhen To Use A Different Source