The Japanese balance of payments from 1994 to 1997 is as follows. All numbers are reported in billions of U.S. dollars. The last line gives the real effective exchange rate index of the yen relative to other currencies. An increase in the index means a real appreciation of the yen. 1994 1995 1996 1997 Merchandise: Exports 386 429 400 409 Merchandise: Imports 2241 2297 2317 2308 Services: Credit 58 65 68 69 Services: Debit 2106 2123 2130 2123 Income: Credit 155 192 225 222 Income: Debit 2115 2148 2172 2166 Current Transfers 26 28 29 29 Direct Investments 217 222 223 223 Portfolio Investments 228 236 242 29 Other Capital Flows 241 25 36 2128 Net Errors and Omissions 218 14 1 34 Reserve Account Real Effective Yen Rate 169 175 146 137 We can infer from the information above that ( )
A.
The Japanese trade balance, which has been constantly positive over the time period, decreased dramatically from 1994 to 1996. The current account tracked the trade balance.
B.
The trade surplus was mostly used to invest abroad (negative capital and financial account).
C.
In each year, the current account surplus exceeded the capital and financial account deficit and official reserves decreased.
D.
In 1994 and 1995, the yen kept appreciating in real terms (its real effective exchange rate was 127 in 1992 and moved up to 175 in 1995). The strong yen hurt the international competitiveness of Japan and its trade balance strongly deteriorated until 1996.
E.
In each year, the current account surplus exceeded the capital and financial account deficit and official reserves increased.