What Does the Term Economic Environment Refer To

What does the term economic environment refer to?

A) It refers to the unique micro-economic factors of local markets.
B) It refers to the application of science to convert resources to output.
C) It refers to the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of current competitors' marketing strategies.
D) It refers to a marketing mix that customers see as better than a competitor's mix.
E) It refers to the macro-economic factors that affect patterns of consumer and business spending.