* Russian rouble hits highest point since Sept. 1
* Finance ministry plans resume borrowing in September
* Non-resident investors return to some stock market trading
* Russia's budget surplus narrows in Jan-Aug
* This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine
MOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble reversed early losses to strengthen against the dollar on Monday as non-resident "friendly" investors returned to stocks trading and the finance ministry set out its borrowing plan for September after a seven-month pause.
Russia suspended weekly auctions of OFZ treasury bonds, which it uses to plug budget holes, in February, weeks before it started what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, which triggered unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow.
Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov last week said the ministry would prefer to place bonds with a long-term tenor and aim for a maturity length that does not overload its repayment schedule.
The ministry said auctions would take place on Sept. 14, 21 and 28, with three quarters of the papers issued having a 5-10 year maturity.
By 1522 GMT, the rouble was 0.5% stronger against the dollar at 60.27, earlier hitting its strongest since Sept. 1, paring early losses after Moscow Exchange resumed its early morning FX session for the first time since late February.
It was unchanged at 60.97 versus the euro.
Promsvyazbank analysts said they expected the rouble to continue trading within a 60 to 61 target range against the greenback on Monday.
Emergency capital controls and collapsing imports widening Russia's current account surplus have seen the rouble become the world's best-performing currency https://amers2.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/NewsServices/mediaProxy?apiKey=6d416f26-7b24-4f31-beb6-1b5aa0f3fafb&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffingfx.thomsonreuters.com%2Fgfx%2Frngs%2FGLOBAL-CURRENCIES-PERFORMANCE%2F0100301V041%2Findex.html this year.
But the country's Jan-Aug budget surplus narrowed to around $2.3 billion from $8 billion for January-July and $32.5 billion for the first half, data showed on Monday, as revenues gradually fall away.
Though higher for the year so far, oil and gas revenues fell 3.4% in August, a softer drop than the 22.5% slide in July. Non-oil and gas revenues fell 14.3% in August.
Yields on benchmark 10-year OFZ bonds stood at 9.44% , with investors looking ahead to Friday's key interest rate decision. Analysts polled by Reuters expect a 50-basis-point cut to 7.5%.
"The key event this week on the rouble bond market is the central bank meeting," said Alfa-Capital portfolio manager Evgeny Zhornist, predicting that the regulator will move in smaller steps in its monetary policy easing cycle from now on.
STOCKS CLIMB
Moscow Exchange will resume evening trading on its stock market from Monday and also welcomed back non-residents from what Russia deems friendly countries - those which have not imposed sanctions on Moscow.
Russia's largest bourse is gradually widening its offering, seeking to return some sense of normalcy to Russian financial markets after severe disruptions in February and March as Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine began to bite.
Russian stock indexes climbed as non-residents returned.
"Most likely, this will have a neutral effect on the Russian market, since a significant part of the securities is still banned for non-residents," BCS Global Markets said in a note.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.4% at 1,280.3 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.9% higher at 2,448.5 points.
Currency markets opened at 0350 GMT. The Moscow Exchange's evening session on its stock market will run until 2050 GMT. (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis)
