WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of FBI background checks for U.S. gun purchases set a record in December, as the Connecticut school massacre prompted renewed talk of limits on firearms, according to new FBI data.

The FBI said it recorded 2.8 million background checks during the month, surpassing the record set in November of 2 million checks. The number was up 49 percent over December 2011, when the FBI performed a then-record 1.9 million checks.

(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Bill Trott)