Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped on Thursday, as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no material commitment of what the central bank might do at its next policy meeting.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 46.2 U.S. dollars, or 2.83 percent, to settle at 1,588 dollars per ounce.

Market analysts said that gold Thursday broke a two-day winning streak and once again fell below the level of 1,600 dollars an ounce, as traders were heavily disappointed at Bernanke's morning testimony before Congress.

Although Bernanke said that the Fed remained ready to act in the case of another economic downturn, he gave no hint that any quantitative easing policy (QE3) was being considered for the immediate future.

QE3 tends to encourage investment in gold, as it raises inflationary pressures and in the case of extraordinary moves by the Fed, weighs on the value of the U.S. dollar.

The Fed talked too much, but was always indecisive over its monetary policy, Bernanke's words again failed to offer a clear signal about whether QE3 is coming, which disappointed most investors, Mike Daley, a senior gold analyst with PFGBEST Group told Xinhua in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Silver for July delivery sharply fell 95.9 cents, or 3.25 percent, to settle at 28.529 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery dropped 28.3 dollars, or 1.9 percent, to close at 1,440.9 dollars per ounce.