* Melbourne likely to face fresh lockdown * NZX 50 down 0.4% (Updates to close) July 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Thursday, with buy-now, pay-later and bank shares leading losses, as likelihood of country’s second-most populous city entering fresh coronavirus lockdown weighed on sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.26% to end at 7,335.9, with only heavyweight gold and iron ore miners in the black. Local media reported that Melbourne would follow Sydney into a lockdown, as the outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant threatens to take hold in the Victorian capital. “Melbourne going in lockdown along with Sydney is a big threat to the country’s economic recovery, on top of the slow vaccine rollout adding to the headwind... the banks are suffering today as a reaction,” said Henry Jennings, a senior analyst for independent stock market newsletter Marcus Today.