---
title: "RBI Reference Rate in Google Sheets, Excel and Python (No API Key)"
description: "Pull the official RBI reference rate (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AED, IDR vs INR) into Google Sheets, Excel or Python with one URL. Free, no API key, refreshed every business day."
canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/rbi-reference-rate-google-sheets-excel-python/
source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt
generated: 2026-10-14T18:23:14.353Z
---

Finance teams in India copy the **RBI reference rate** into a spreadsheet every afternoon: USD/INR for export invoices, EUR and GBP for vendor payments, the month-end rate for book closing. This guide replaces the copy-paste with one URL that works in Google Sheets, Excel and Python. No API key, no sign-up, and the numbers are the RBI’s own published table.

The URL returns today’s full table as CSV:

```
https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?format=csv
```

It covers the six currencies in the RBI table (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AED and IDR, all against the rupee) and includes the publication date on every row. Want to see the numbers first? They are on the [RBI exchange rate API](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/rbi/) page.

## Where the rate comes from

Since 10 July 2018 the reference rate has been computed and announced by **Financial Benchmarks India Ltd (FBIL)**, once per Mumbai business day at around 13:30 IST. The RBI publishes the same figures in its Reference Rate Archive, which is where this table is read from, so the “RBI reference rate” and the “FBIL reference rate” are the same numbers. There is no rate on Saturdays, Sundays or Mumbai bank holidays.

## Google Sheets

Paste this into any cell to load the whole table. It refreshes automatically, roughly every hour:

```
=IMPORTDATA("https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?format=csv")
```

To get a single rate, for example USD/INR, wrap it in a lookup on the currency column:

```
=VLOOKUP("USD", QUERY(IMPORTDATA("https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?format=csv"), "select Col2, Col5"), 2, FALSE)
```

Change `"USD"` to `"EUR"`, `"GBP"`, `"JPY"`, `"AED"` or `"IDR"` for the other currencies. Put the publication date next to it with `=INDEX(IMPORTDATA("https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?format=csv"), 2, 1)` so every figure in the sheet shows which day’s rate it is.

## Excel

Excel loads the same CSV through Power Query, and the query refreshes on demand:

1. Go to **Data → Get Data → From Other Sources → From Web**.
2. Paste the CSV URL above and click **OK**, then **Load**.
3. Use **Data → Refresh All** after 13:30 IST to pick up the day’s new table, or set the query to refresh when the file opens (Query Properties → *Refresh data when opening the file*).

Point your formulas at the loaded table, for example `=XLOOKUP("USD", rbi[base], rbi[value])` (Excel names the table after the query; use yours in place of `rbi`).

## Python

One currency pair as JSON, using only the standard library:

```
import json, urllib.request

url = "https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?source=USD&target=INR"
data = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url))
print(data["rate_date"], data["rate"])   # e.g. 2026-10-14 95.0317
```

The whole table with pandas:

```
import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_csv("https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi?format=csv", encoding="utf-8-sig")
print(df[["rate_date", "base", "value"]])
```

The `utf-8-sig` encoding strips the byte-order mark the CSV starts with (it is there so Excel opens the file as UTF-8).

## Past dates and history

The open URL always returns the latest published table. For a past date, such as the rate on an invoice date or at a month-end, or a daily series back to 2003, use the RBI endpoints with a free API key. They are listed on the [RBI exchange rate API](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/rbi/) page, and a weekend or holiday date returns the rate of the last business day before it, labelled with its real publication date.

## FAQ

### Is this the official RBI reference rate?

Yes. The table is read from the RBI’s own Reference Rate Archive. Since 10 July 2018 the numbers are computed and announced by Financial Benchmarks India Ltd (FBIL), and the RBI lists the same rates in its archive, so the RBI and FBIL reference rates are the same daily figures. Every row carries the publication date.

### Do I need an API key for Google Sheets or Excel?

No. The latest published RBI table is open: no key, no sign-up. Show a visible link back to allratestoday.com where you display the rates. Past dates and history need a free API key.

### Why is the JPY rate 0.6 and not 60?

The RBI quotes the yen per 100 units. The API normalises every rate to 1 unit of the foreign currency, so multiply by 100 if you need the RBI’s own per-100 figure.

### How often should my sheet refresh?

Once per business day is enough. The RBI reference rate is published once per Mumbai business day, around 13:30 IST, and does not change afterwards. There is no rate on weekends or Mumbai bank holidays.

## Need past RBI rates?

History back to 2003 and any date’s table with a free key. 300 free requests, no credit card.

 [Get your free API key](https://allratestoday.com/register/)

## Related Articles

- [RBI exchange rate API — today’s table and endpoints](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/rbi/)
- [All covered central banks](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/)
- [RBI Reference Rate API: Official INR Rates as JSON](https://allratestoday.com/blog/rbi-exchange-rate-api/)
- [RBI Reference Rate for Accounting: Book Closing, FX Gain/Loss & Audit](https://allratestoday.com/blog/rbi-reference-rate-api/)
- [Central bank API documentation](https://allratestoday.com/docs/#central-bank)
- [Best exchange rate APIs in 2026 — how the official-rate and market-rate providers compare](https://allratestoday.com/best/best-exchange-rate-api/)