LONDON (Reuters) - Gold recovered earlier losses and rose to a fresh record high Friday with the momentum which has lifted prices more than 9 percent this month after reports of central bank gold buying.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $6.60 to settle at an all-time high of $1,148.50. The precious metal fell to a low of $1,137.00 earlier in the session.

India's acquisition of 200 tonnes of bullion from the IMF boosted interest in gold earlier this month. The impetus from the move pushed gold through key technical resistance levels, taking gold to a record $1,152.75 an ounce on Wednesday.

The metal may be due a correction after this month's sharp price rise, analysts said, but in the longer term it is likely to resume its climb.