BANGKOK, May 5 (Bloomberg): The Bank of Thailand is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday as investors seek clarity on how the nation’s biggest wave of Covid-19 infections yet is impacting the economy. All 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the central bank to keep the policy rate at at a record-low 0.5% for an eighth straight meeting. The Monetary Policy Committee also will assess how the pandemic is affecting the economy. The recovery was gaining steam in March before the latest outbreak hit, with Thailand’s total virus cases and deaths since the pandemic began more than doubling in April. With containment measures now in place across the country, the Finance Ministry last week cut its forecast for 2021 gross domestic product to 2.3% growth, from 2.8% expected earlier.