Shares of exchange-traded funds back by gold and silver rose in premarket trading Thursday as the U.S. government reported a higher-than-expected increase in inflation and an increase in jobless claims.

The consumer price index last month rose 0.5 percent, more than the 0.2 analysts had expected. The number of jobless claims last week jumped to 408,000 from the previous week's 395,000. Analysts had expected 400,000.

The reports reinforced the perception that the U.S. economy continues to bump along the bottom and suggested that inflation may be on the upswing.

Both factors bode well for gold-related assets, something that was quickly reflected in the price of exchange-traded funds.

The world's biggest ETF back by physical gold, SPDR Gold Trust, jumped 1.3 percent while another such ETF, iShares Gold Trust climbed 1.2 percent.

The iShares Silver Trust rose 0.33 percent.

Gold Consumer price index Inflation Security