Below you are given the first four values of a time series. Using a 4-period moving average, the forecasted value for period 5 is
A)2.5
B)17
C)20
D)10

Question

Below you are given the first four values of a time series.  Using a 4-period moving average, the forecasted value for period 5 is
A)2.5 
B)17 
C)20 
D)10

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the 4-period moving average, we add up the first four values and divide by 4:

(1+1+14+23)/4 = 9.75

Therefore, the forecast for period 5 is 9.75. However, this is not one of the answer choices.

To find the forecasted value for period 5, we would now drop the first value (1) and add the next value in the series. This would give us:

(1+14+23+x)/4 = 9.75

Solving for x, we get:

x = 10

Therefore, the forecasted value for period 5 is 10, which corresponds to choice D. However, there seems to be an error in the given time series, as the first four values do not seem to be numerical values.

Below You Are Given the First Four Values of a Time