US retail sales rose more than expected in January, official data showed Friday in a report suggesting economic recovery from recession is gaining momentum. The Commerce Department reported that seasonally adjusted retail sales totaled 355.8 billion dollars in January, a 0.5 percent rise from December and 4.7 percent higher than the year-ago level. The increase in retail and food-service sales was better than the 0.3 percent expected by most analysts. The Commerce Department also revised upward estimates for the previous two months. In December, sales fell 0.1 percent, originally reported at 0.3 percent, and November sales were raised 0.2 point to 2.0 percent. In January, only four of 13 sectors measured by the data, which is not adjusted for prices, fell. Excluding the often-volatile auto and gasoline sales, retail sales rose 0.6 percent. Retail sales are a major indicator of consumer spending, which drives two-thirds of the US economic activity. Consumer spending is widely seen as key to sustain the economy's government- stimulated recovery from the worst recession in decades. 