Timing on Fed's rate cut hinges on events in next two weeks: BAML

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several developments in the next couple of weeks are seen as "absolutely critical" to whether the Federal Reserve would begin lowering U.S. interest rates in July or in September, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said.

"It will be a function of the data and financial conditions - if we get another weak payroll report, disappointing ISM surveys and a bad outcome from the G20, the Fed will likely be inclined to cut in July," they wrote in a report released on Thursday.

"If the data are mixed and markets are content, the Fed will likely continue to 'monitor' and wait until September," they said.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)