MOSCOW, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble rose sharply in the first trading day of the year on Monday, with high crude prices and a weak dollar bolstering the currency. At 1100 GMT, the rouble traded at 35.37 against the dollar-euro basket used by the central bank as a guide for the currency's nominal exchange rate, some 81 kopecks stronger from the last trading session on Dec. 30. Russia enjoyed public holidays over the first 10 days of the new year, with bourses and most business closed. High oil prices, with next-month Brent deliveries at $81.33 on Monday nearly twice their level from February of last year, have been a major driver of the rouble's rebound in past few months. Crude and a small basket of raw materials are Russia's chief exports, dictating the country's trade balance and the commodity-heavy stock exchanges. The bourses advanced substantially on Monday, with the MICEX Stock Exchange gaining 81 points, or nearly 6 percent since the last trading day. The rouble also firmed against the dollar, gaining 13 kopecks to 29.37 per dollar and reaching the strongest level since Dec. 25.

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