What trend was observed in the five-year moving average of DRP from 1975 to 2019?

• A. It remained completely flat.
• B. The five-year moving average of DRP declined into the mid-1990s and then increased into the 2000s.
• C. It continuously decreased over the entire period.
• D. It fluctuated randomly with no trend.

Answer: (B)

Interpreting a five-year moving average means looking at long‑term direction, not year-to-year bumps. This five-year smoothing reduces short-term noise and reveals how DRP trends over time.

The pattern shows DRP values slipping downward through the years up to the mid‑1990s, hitting a low point, and then turning upward into the 2000s and continuing higher toward 2019. That indicates a turning point: a period of decline followed by a rise, rather than a flat line, a continual drop, or completely random fluctuations.

Because the moving average highlights this clear shift—from downward to upward—the description of a decline into the mid‑1990s and then an increase into the 2000s best fits the data.