A U.S. Senate committee voted to advance the nomination of First Capital executive Brian Johnson to be Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to the next stage.

Spot gold jumped nearly $15 intraday to $4,350/oz, up 2.07% on the day. Spot silver rose $0.40 to $64.63/oz.

U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 in the week ended Sept. 12, versus economists’ 208,000 consensus, the Labor Department said Thursday. The drop likely reflects holiday-related volatility and seasonal-adjustment distortions around Labor Day. The department said the underlying trend indicates the labor market has steadied after summer volatility.