43 The average price per gallon of gasoline in major U.S. cities for each month during a three-year period are shown in the following table:

MONTH YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 January $2.972 $3.301 $3.472 February $2.955 $3.369 $3.484 March $2.991 $3.541 $3.447 April $3.117 $3.506 $3.564 May $3.178 $3.498 $3.729 June $3.148 $3.617 $3.640 July $3.189 $3.593 $3.482 August $3.255 $3.510 $3.427 September $3.280 $3.582 $3.531 October $3.274 $3.559 $3.362 November $3.264 $3.555 $3.263 December $3.298 $3.489 $3.131

(a) Using exponential smoothing with a = 0.45, what is the gasoline price forecast for January of year 4?

(b) What is the linear trend equation that best fits the data? Forecast the average gasoline price for January of year 4 by using this equation.

(c) Which method is more accurate?