Poland’s retail sales shocker, BRICS and the dollar

The substantial drop in Polish retail sales in September has been interpreted by some analysts as evidence that the engine of the economy is beginning to fail, but we think that these fears are overblown. Meanwhile, reducing dependence on the US dollar was a key theme at this week's BRICS summit in Russia. However, a BRICS currency is a non-starter in our view, and efforts to develop an alternative cross-border settlement system are likely to be slow.