Yahoo Finance API Alternative for
Oil & Commodity Data
Yahoo Finance discontinued its official API. OilPriceAPI is a purpose-built commodity price API delivering real-time crude oil prices, natural gas, and 50+ energy commodities with official SDKs.
Why Developers Are Moving Away from Yahoo Finance API
No Official API
Yahoo Finance shut down its official API in 2017. Current workarounds use unofficial, undocumented endpoints that break without warning.
Scraping Restrictions
Yahoo actively blocks scrapers and unofficial API calls. Rate limits are unpublished and change frequently, causing production failures.
Limited Energy Data
Yahoo Finance covers stocks and major indices well, but energy commodity coverage is limited to a handful of futures — no marine fuels, no drilling data.
Feature Comparison: Yahoo Finance vs OilPriceAPI
| Feature | Yahoo Finance | OilPriceAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Official API | ||
| API Documentation | None (unofficial) | Full REST API docs |
| Oil & Energy Commodities | ~5 futures | 50+ commodities |
| Crude Oil Prices (WTI/Brent) | ||
| Natural Gas Prices | Henry Hub only | Henry Hub, TTF, NBP, JKM |
| Marine Fuel Prices | ||
| Drilling & Well Permits | ||
| Python SDK | Community (yfinance) | Official SDK |
| Webhooks | ||
| Update Frequency | Delayed/unknown | Every 5 minutes |
| SLA / Uptime | None | 99.9% SLA |
| Stocks & Equities |
Code Comparison: Getting Crude Oil Prices
Yahoo Finance (unofficial yfinance)
# pip install yfinance
# WARNING: Uses unofficial Yahoo endpoints
# May break without notice
import yfinance as yf
# Only gets futures ticker data
ticker = yf.Ticker("CL=F") # WTI
hist = ticker.history(period="1d")
# Limited to basic OHLCV
print(hist["Close"].iloc[-1])
# No marine fuels, no drilling data
# No webhook support
# No SLA guaranteeOilPriceAPI (official SDK)
# pip install oilpriceapi
# Official SDK with documentation
from oilpriceapi import OilPriceAPI
client = OilPriceAPI("your_api_key")
# 50+ commodities available
wti = client.get_price("WTI_USD")
brent = client.get_price("BRENT_USD")
gas = client.get_price("NATURAL_GAS_USD")
marine = client.get_price("VLSFO_MARINE_USD")
print(f"WTI: {wti.price}/barrel")
# Real-time data, 99.9% SLA
# Webhooks, marine fuels, drillingUse Yahoo Finance If You Need:
- Stock prices and equity data
- Company financials and earnings
- Free data for personal projects (with risk)
- Accept unofficial API risk — endpoints can break anytime
Use OilPriceAPI If You Need:
- Crude oil prices — WTI, Brent, Dubai, Murban, and more
- Natural gas data — Henry Hub, Dutch TTF, UK NBP, JKM
- Marine fuels, coal, uranium, and gasoline prices
- Production-ready API with 99.9% SLA and official SDKs
- Webhooks for real-time price alerts and automation
Migrate from yfinance in Under 5 Minutes
Our commodity price API uses clean REST endpoints with comprehensive API documentation. No unofficial workarounds.
curl https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest \
-H 'Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
# Response:
# {
# "status": "success",
# "data": {
# "price": 74.32,
# "formatted": "$74.32",
# "currency": "USD",
# "code": "BRENT_USD"
# }
# }Pricing Comparison
Yahoo Finance
*Unofficial — no SLA, no support, may be blocked
RapidAPI proxy: $10-500/mo with rate limits
OilPriceAPI
Official API with 99.9% SLA and dedicated support
Common Questions About Yahoo Finance API
Does Yahoo Finance have an API?
Yahoo Finance discontinued its official API in 2017. Community libraries like yfinance use unofficial endpoints that can break at any time. For production commodity data, OilPriceAPI provides an official REST API with documentation and SLA.
Can I get crude oil prices from Yahoo Finance?
Yahoo Finance shows basic crude oil futures (CL=F for WTI, BZ=F for Brent) via their website, but API access is unreliable. OilPriceAPI provides real-time crude oil prices for WTI, Brent, Dubai, Murban, OPEC Basket, and 45+ additional energy commodities with guaranteed uptime.
What is the best API for commodity prices?
For oil and energy commodities specifically, OilPriceAPI offers the deepest coverage with 50+ commodities including crude oil, natural gas, marine fuels, coal, and uranium. For stocks and equities, consider Alpha Vantage or IEX Cloud. For general financial data, Bloomberg or Refinitiv are enterprise options.
Reliable Commodity Data API
Stop depending on unofficial endpoints. Get production-ready oil and energy data with a 7-day free trial.