Australian central bank eyes quarter- or half-point hike - Lowe

ZURICH, June 24 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia will likely discuss interest rate hikes of 25 or 50 basis points at its next policy review as it seeks to battle inflation, Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday.

"I don't want to...forecast the next meeting, but I suspect it will be the same discussion again at our next meeting, 25 or 50 (points) again," Lowe said after it raised rates by 50 basis points to 0.85% at its June meeting.

Lowe said the bank was serious about taking steps to tackle inflation, which is forecast to reach 7% by the end of this year. The RBA was fairly confident inflation will decline next year, he told an event in Zurich.

He mentioned the global economy recovering from bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a favourable base effect next year, and higher interest rates as contributing factors to easing inflation.

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields)