BOJ's Kuroda: Will ease more if forex moves threaten price goal

[May 19, 2016]  SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the central bank would not hesitate to ease monetary policy further if market moves, including currency fluctuations, threatened prospects for achieving its 2 percent inflation target.

Kuroda shrugged off the view that Japan was triggering a currency devaluation war with its ultra-loose monetary policy, saying that its monetary easing steps were aimed purely at achieving its price goal.

"We're now scrutinizing how the effects of our policy steps spread to the economy. That doesn't mean we won't do anything until the effects are clear," he told reporters in Sendai, northeastern Japan, ahead of a two-day Group of Seven finance leaders' gathering that kicks off on Friday.

"We will scrutinize the economy and prices at each policy meeting and won't hesitate to take additional easing steps if needed to hit our price target," he said.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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