get_selic_rate: Get Annual Brazilian SELIC Rate (Annualized, Base 252)

In brfinance: Access to Brazilian Macroeconomic and Financial Time Series

Get Annual Brazilian SELIC Rate (Annualized, Base 252)

Description

Downloads the annual SELIC rate series from the Central Bank of Brazil's SGS API. The SELIC rate (Special System for Settlement and Custody) is Brazil's benchmark overnight interest rate, used as the primary monetary policy instrument.

Usage

get_selic_rate(
  start_date = "2020-01-01",
  end_date = NULL,
  language = "eng",
  labels = TRUE
)

Arguments

start_date	Start date for the data period. Accepts multiple formats: "YYYY" for year only (e.g., "2020" becomes "2020-01-01") "YYYY-MM" for year and month (e.g., "2020-06" becomes "2020-06-01") "YYYY-MM-DD" for a specific date (e.g., "2020-06-15") NULL defaults to "2020-01-01" (sensible default for analysis)
end_date	End date for the data period. Accepts the same formats as start_date: "YYYY" (e.g., "2023" becomes "2023-12-31") "YYYY-MM" (e.g., "2023-12" becomes the last day of December 2023) "YYYY-MM-DD" for a specific date NULL defaults to the current date (today)
language	Language for column names in the returned data.frame: "eng" (default): Returns columns date and selic_rate "pt": Returns columns data_referencia and taxa_selic
labels	Logical indicating whether to add variable labels using the labelled package. Labels provide descriptive text for each column when available.

Value

A data.frame with SELIC rate. Columns depend on the language parameter:

• English (language = "eng"): date (Date), selic_rate (numeric, % per year)

• Portuguese (language = "pt"): data_referencia (Date), taxa_selic (numeric, % ao ano)

Note

IMPORTANT API LIMITATION: The BCB API imposes a 10-year maximum window for daily frequency series like SELIC. Requests spanning more than 10 years will fail. For longer historical analyses, split your request into multiple 10-year periods.

DEFAULT PERIOD: When start_date = NULL, defaults to "2020-01-01" (start of 2020), providing recent data while avoiding the 10-year API limit with current dates.

Examples

  # Default: from 2020 to current date
  df <- get_selic_rate()

  # Specific period within 10-year limit
  df2 <- get_selic_rate("2020-01-01", "2023-12-31")

  # Last 5 years (respecting 10-year limit)
  df3 <- get_selic_rate(start_date = "2019")

  # Portuguese column names and labels
  df4 <- get_selic_rate(language = "pt")

  # Complete year analysis
  df5 <- get_selic_rate("2018", "2023")

brfinance documentation built on Feb. 19, 2026, 9:06 a.m.