May 7 (Reuters) - McDonald's missed Wall Street estimates for growth in quarterly U.S. comparable sales on Thursday, as low-priced meal deals and limited-time offers struggled to draw diners whose budgets have been strained by higher fuel and grocery costs.

After several years of price hikes, operators in the fast-food industry have been forced to rely more on value-driven promotions to revive demand as customers cut back spending.

The world's biggest burger chain posted U.S. same-store sales growth of 3.9% in the first quarter, missing expectations of a 4.2% increase.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said the operating environment remained "challenging", even though McDonald's beat quarterly estimates for revenue and profit, sending its shares up about 3% in premarket trading.

Several U.S. restaurant chains such as Wingstop ( WING ) and Domino's have reported weaker quarterly sales growth, citing a hit to customer spending from soaring gasoline prices caused by the Iran war.

Lower-income consumers are becoming more selective, Wall Street analysts have said, increasingly trading down to simpler, single-item orders rather than full meals.

McDonald's U.S. traffic remained uneven through the first quarter, data from Placer.ai showed.

Same-store visits fell 1.3% in January due to winter storms. Traffic rebounded 3.8% in February on pent-up demand, but slipped in March to 1.2% in a more muted response to new menu launches as rising fuel prices further hurt household budgets.

To capture cost-conscious customers, McDonald's has expanded its McValue platform with new $3 and $4 tiers in April.

Globally, McDonald's comparable sales rose 3.8%, narrowly missing analysts' average expectation of 3.95%, though it was an improvement from a 1% decline a year ago.

The company's total revenue of $6.52 billion exceeded estimates of $6.47 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, it earned $2.83 per share, beating expectations of $2.74.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)