The Reserve Bank will make an interest rate policy announcement at 2:30 pm AEDT on Thursday, according to a post on its website.

The Reserve Bank of Australia had already said that Governor Philip Lowe would give a speech and conference call at 4pm but the timing of the policy statement is new.

Markets widely expect RBA will cut its main cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 per cent on Thursday and announce a move to quantitative easing, which includes buying government bonds, as part of a global effort to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus.

The RBA usually makes announcements on the cash rate on the first Tuesday of the month but reserves the right to make these decisions outside this schedule.