U.S. Fed seen hiking rates in June or Sept-BlackRock

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will likely begin raising policy rates in June or September following a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. jobs which showed the jobless rate falling to a 6-1/2 year low in February, a top bond manager at BlackRock said on Friday.

"All signs point to the Fed beginning its normalization of rates, with an initial policy rate increase, either in June or in September, and we are quite convinced it will occur this year," Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income at the New York-based firm which is also the world's biggest asset manager, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Bernadette Baum)