Which of the following statements about the balance of payments is accurate?

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A surplus in the current account guarantees a surplus in the capital account.A deficit in the current account implies a deficit in the capital account as well.The total of all balance of payments entries must always be a positive number.The sum of all entries in the balance of payments must equal zero.

Explanation

The balance of payments is an accounting record that must balance out, meaning the total of all credits and debits across the current, capital, and financial accounts sums to zero. Therefore, the overall balance cannot be positive or negative, but must be zero. Options A and B incorrectly assume a direct surplus or deficit correlation between accounts, and option C incorrectly states the total must be positive.