* Bernanke comments puncture expectations for imminent QE3 * ECB meeting expected to flag rate rise in July * Retail buying of silver increasing in Asia, UBS says (Updates throughout, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE) By Jan Harvey LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no hints of further U.S. monetary easing in a speech a day earlier, taking pressure off the dollar. Bernanke acknowledged the U.S. economy has slowed but offered no hint that the central bank is considering any more stimulus to accelerate growth. Spot gold was bid at $1,536.36 an ounce at 0913 GMT, against $1,542.85 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell $6.50 an ounce to $1,537.50. The metal rose above $1,550 earlier in the week as the U.S. currency wilted, pressured by expectations that U.S. interest rates will stay low and that another round of quantitative easing -- which roughly equates to printing money -- may be on the cards. But it failed to retain traction after Bernanke's speech. "Bernanke was trying to inject some confidence," VM Group analyst Carl Firman said. "His words did at least delay expectations for QE3.

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