SINGAPORE - Relatively lower inflation in Asia means the region's central banks can focus more on domestic conditions and less on what the US Federal Reserve might do when setting monetary policy, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The region is heading for a "soft landing" thanks to rapid disinflation creating room for easing monetary policies, the lender said in a report, although the pace of economic expansion is expected to slow over the next two years.

The IMF forecast growth in the region would slow from 5 percent in 2023 to 4.5 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2025, with near-term risks "broadly balanced"

"Don't tie yourself too tight to what the Fed does, look at what's happening to inflation (domestically)," IMF Asia-Pacific Director Krishna Srinivasan told reporters after the release of the Regional Economic Outlook report.

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"Asian countries are better placed to cope with exchange rate movements today owing to fewer financial frictions and better macro fundamentals and institutional frameworks, and should continue to allow exchange rates to act as a buffer against shocks."

The IMF forecast growth in the region would slow from 5 percent in 2023 to 4.5 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2025, with near-term risks "broadly balanced".