BOJ's Kuroda says ready to ease if needed to hit price target

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the central bank is ready to take additional monetary easing steps if needed to achieve its 2 percent inflation target.

"Japan's economy is expected to expand moderately as a trend," Kuroda said in a speech delivered at a quarterly meeting of the central bank's regional branch managers.

The BOJ has kept monetary policy steady since January, when it decided to add negative interest rates to its massive asset-buying programme in a fresh attempt to accelerate inflation towards its 2 percent target.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher)