Every interest-rate cycle has its own shorthand. In late-2025, financial circles began circulating a new phrase: “6-7”. It refers to speculation that the US Federal Reserve could cut rates six to seven times across 2025 and 2026, a dramatic shift toward easing after the tightening cycle that dominated headlines from 2022 to 2024.

The phrase has since taken on a life of its own across finance media, as investors debate whether we are approaching the front-end of the next easing cycle, or whether expectations are once again running ahead of policymakers’ intentions.

To understand the truth behind this market slogan, one must start with the Fed’s own guidance. In its September 2025 dot plot, the central bank projected a year-end policy rate of around 3.6% for 2025, easing further to 3.4% in 2026 and 3.1% in 2027.

In other words, the Fed’s official baseline points to a gradual glide path rather than an aggressive cutting campaign. Investors may price a faster cycle and markets are never shy about running ahead of the Fed, but policymakers have clearly signalled a preference for steady normalisation, not abrupt capitulation.

US Feds Cut 

When the Fed cut rates in October 2025, bringing the federal funds range to 3.75% – 4.00%, it reaffirmed that easing had begun, but it did not endorse the “6-7” narrative. The cut, paired with its decision to pause balance-sheet runoff in December, instead communicated something more nuanced: a desire to support liquidity without signalling urgency. If anything, the tone suggested confidence that the economy can manage a controlled descent.

MAS Policy 

A Singapore borrower reading these developments may naturally wonder how this translates to home-loan decisions, especially in a market where SORA has been holding around 1.2%–1.3% and the lowest fixed-rate mortgages hover near 1.43%. 

After all, the traditional assumption has long been that Singapore simply follows the Fed. And while US policy does guide global liquidity conditions, Singapore’s interest-rate behaviour in 2025 offered an important reminder: directionally aligned does not mean mechanically linked. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore manages policy through the exchange-rate band, not interest rates, and domestic liquidity conditions have kept SORA far below where US-centric models would have placed it.

If the Fed proceeds along its official path,  a gentle series of cuts stretching through 2026, SORA is likely to remain comfortable and anchored, drifting only modestly higher as global funding conditions settle. In this base case, Singapore’s floating-rate borrowers may continue enjoying historically low funding costs across 2026, with a gradual normalisation toward the upper-1% to low-2% range by 2027. 

Conversely, if the market’s “6-7?” expectation proves accurate and the Fed is compelled to accelerate easing due to softer growth, SORA could remain near the low-1s for much longer, and banks may once again compete aggressively on fixed-rate promos in the mid-1% handle for select profiles.

Should I choose Fixed or Floating Rate? 

This is a moment where patience meets prudence. With floating packages still highly attractive and fixed packages unusually close in pricing, the choice today is not between high and low rates, but between certainty and strategic participation in easing. 

Borrowers confident in their cash-flow resilience may reasonably maintain or select a SORA-pegged structure, capturing continued softness in funding. Those who prioritise stability, particularly families budgeting tightly or clients approaching retirement, may prefer a short fixed-rate commitment, locking in historically low certainty while retaining flexibility to reassess when clarity returns in 18–24 months.

What matters most, however, is not the headline rate, but the structure beneath it, such as the bank spread, the reset tenor, the lock-in clause, penalty terms, interest-offset features, and the borrower’s personal liquidity cushion. Mortgage planning in 2026 will not be about guessing whether the Fed cuts four times or seven, but aligning financing with household resilience and life-stage plans.

The “6-7?” catchphrase is useful shorthand for a hopeful narrative. Yet in both Washington and Singapore, the story that is quietly unfolding is one of measured normalisation, not abrupt reversal. Borrowers who understand this stand to benefit most, not by chasing the meme, but by structuring intelligently around the cycle, maintaining optionality, and allowing time, liquidity, and central banks to do their work.

Refinance or Reprice? Act now!

For homeowners considering refinancing or repricing in the coming months, the window remains attractive. Rates are low, liquidity is gentle, and choice is ample. This may not last forever, but it does not need to, financial decisions made calmly, before urgency arrives, tend to be the soundest.