McDonald's Corp posted a 1.4 percent rise in February sales at restaurants open at least 13 months as strength in the United States helped offset the impact of the stronger dollar.

The increase also came despite having one fewer day in February this year compared with Leap Year in 2008, which cut about 4 percentage points from same-store sales, the company said on Monday .

But the company warned that at current currency rates the stronger dollar would cut first quarter earnings by 7 cents to 9 cents a share.

The stronger dollar, which lessens the dollar-value of sales made overseas, would cut revenue by $600 million in the quarter at current rates, the company said.

Currency and commodity costs are expected to pressure margins in the first quarter, the company said.

Still, McDonald's and some other fast-food restaurants have benefited as a global economic downturn sent customers to lower-priced fare.

Consumers all over the world, especially in Europe and the United States, are looking for value and they are trading down, Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said. He added that McDonald's sales for the month appeared to slightly beat consensus expectations after factoring out the calendar shift.

February same-store sales rose 2.8 percent in the U.S., due to strong sales of chicken products and the Quarter Pounder hamburger, McDonald's said.

Same-store sales fell 0.2 percent in Europe, while same-store sales in the company's Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa segment rose 0.7 percent.

All three regions were hurt to varying degrees by the decline in the number of days in the month.

McDonald's traded at $52.00 in premarket trading on Monday, down from Friday's New York Stock Exchange close of $52.12.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Derek Caney)