Scenario 7 -Use Exponential Smoothing to Forecast the Demand for July

Scenario 7.2 - Gulab Greatness
Historical demand for gulab jamun from a sweet stall on Commercial Road is as displayed in the table.
$$\begin{array} { | c | c | } \hline \text { Month } & \begin{array} { c } \text { Demand } \\\text { (orders) }\end{array} \\\hline \text { January } & 66,753 \\\hline \text { February } & 67,686 \\\hline \text { March } & 68,641 \\\hline \text { April } & 68,979 \\\hline \text { May } & 69,278 \\\hline \text { June } & 69,577 \\\hline \text { July } & 69,602 \\\hline \text { August } & 70,348 \\\hline \text { September } & 70,806 \\\hline \text { October } & 71,011 \\\hline \text { November } & 71,819 \\\hline \text { December } & 72,752 \\\hline\end{array}$$
-Use exponential smoothing to forecast the demand for July.What is the forecast if α = 0.4 and the forecast for May was 69,000?

A) 69,346
B) 69,379
C) 69,500
D) 69,298