Wheat futures on the CBOT were up sharply on Friday, boosted by news Russia plans to slap a prohibitive tariff on wheat exports and on continued aggressive export sales of US wheat, traders said. At 10:02 am CDT (1502 GMT), CBOT wheat was up 5-1/4 to 12 cents per bushel, with December up 12 at $8.37-1/2 per bushel.
A source in Russia's economy ministry told Reuters on Friday the ministry was considering recommending a tariff of 30 percent or no less than 70 euros ($99.80) per tonne. However, the president of the Russian Grain Union said at an annual meeting in Moscow on Thursday that the duty may be set at 50 percent.
"We knew they planned a 10 percent tariff but if they go up to, say, 30 percent or more, that could be a different story," a trader said. CBOT December wheat had been holding above its 50-day moving average that stood at $8.18-3/4 at Thursday's close.