Washington  - A key gauge of US economic performance rose higher than expected in January despite the country's ongoing recession, according to a private research group Thursday.

The New York-based Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators was up 0.4 per cent, after climbing a revised 0.2 per cent in December of last year.

The index, which is designed to measure the economy's performance over the coming three to six months, has fallen 1.9 per cent since July.

The group said two months of positive indicators were not enough to suggest the economic slump was coming to an end. (dpa)