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Tokyo. Central banks in two of Asia’s largest economies left their benchmark interest rates unchanged on Tuesday, noting signs of a global recovery but expressing cautious outlooks.

Japan’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent, while in neighboring South Korea the central bank left its benchmark rate at a record low of 2 percent for the sixth straight month.

Both banks pointed to indications of a gradual recovery but said they remained cautious about the outlook for export-dependent Asian economies.

The Bank of Japan said “economic conditions have stopped worsening” but warned that unemployment remained high and consumer spending was lagging. Joblessness has been a lingering problem for Japan, even as its manufacturing sector recovers from the global economic downturn. Its unemployment rate reached a six-year high of 5.4 percent in June.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa on Tuesday said he saw no risk of the naton slipping into a deflationary spiral.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s central bank said it was too early to consider raising borrowing costs as the country emerges from its worst slowdown in more than a decade.

The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent at a regular monthly policy meeting. The central bank had slashed the rate six times since early October to help battle the effects of the global financial crisis.

South Korea’s economy grew 2.3 percent in the second quarter amid signs that efforts by the government and central bank to stimulate domestic demand were working.

The result followed a 0.1 percent expansion in the first quarter and a 5.1 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Bank of Korea said increased government spending and low interest rates combined with improvements in emerging markets were helping to boost the domestic economy.

Agencies