NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. retail sales rebounded in March after a miserable February, the government said Thursday, coming back even stronger than analysts expected.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 2.1 percent to $311.5 billion after falling a revised 1.3 percent in February. Excluding sales of autos and auto parts, sales rose 1.1 percent after falling a revised 0.6 percent in February.

Economists, on average, expected retail sales to rise 0.6 percent and non-auto sales to rise 0.4 percent, according to a Reuters poll.

The report helped support U.S. stock futures, which traded higher, pointing to a positive opening on Wall Street. Treasury bond prices fell.

Economists pay close attention to consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the total U.S. economy. Consumers kept spending throughout a recession that began in March 2001 and likely ended near the beginning of 2002.

But consumer confidence plunged to nine-year lows in the months leading up to the war. Retail sales plunged in February, posting their biggest drop since Nov. 2001, hurt by war worries and bad winter weather.

Most economists, however, have hoped that a quick resolution to the situation in Iraq will result in a swelling of confidence and a return to better economic growth, and Friday's retail sales report could give some credence to their view.

Later Friday morning, the University of Michigan will release another critical report on the state of the consumer. Its closely watched sentiment index for early April is expected to rise to 78.1 from 77.6 in March, according to a Reuters poll.

Much of the March gain in retail sales was driven by a 5.6-percent rise in motor vehicle sales, which constitute about 22 percent of total sales. Auto sales fell 4.2 percent in February.

Building- and garden-supply sales surged 7.9 percent after falling 5.8 percent in February, and clothing sales rose 1.1 percent after falling 1.4 percent in February.