Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange crashed on Wednesday, as investor hopes for Quantitative easing (QE3) rescue were dashed, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke stopped short of signaling further Fed bond purchases.

The most active gold contract for April delivery plunged 77.1 dollars, or 4.3 percent, to 1,711.3 dollars per ounce.

Bernanke said on Wednesday the nation's high unemployment rate was expected to edge down "only slowly" in 2012.

But Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy failed to offer an indication of further quantitative easing, offering a strong boost for the dollar and pressuring dollar-denominated precious metal.

Meanwhile, gold also came under heavy pressure, as Bernanke's testimony triggered technical selling on Wednesday. Many traders have put in technical sell orders last week, as gold spent almost a week just below the 1,800 dollar per ounce mark and failed to jump above it.

A trader said gold failed to draw any support from the news that the European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday allotted over half a trillion euros to 800 banks in its second three-year longer term refinancing operation (LTRO).

Silver for May delivery tumbled 2.563 dollars, or 6.9 percent, to 34.642 dollars per ounce.