Bank of Japan leaves overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.5 percent

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of Japan left its overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.5 percent for the 17th straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected.The central bank had wanted time to further assess how much the U.S. economy, one of Japan's most important trading partners, will slow down and whether the continuing credit crisis and housing market weakness in the U.S. will hurt global economic growth.The BoJ said it also needs to ascertain whether the Japanese economy can keep itself on track towards recovery despite emerging uncertainty about the corporate sector and surging costs of basic materials.The BoJ said all seven members of its policy board voted unanimously to leave the rate unchanged.After the decision was announced, the U.S. dollar traded flat against the yen at 104.09 yen earlier.The central bank will hold its next policy board meeting on May 19-20.