The calculation of merchandise and current account balances using the retail method cannot be determined without specific data, such as the cost and retail value of inventory, purchases, markdowns, and sales.
To calculate the merchandise balance and the current account balance using the retail method, you would need specific data such as the cost and retail value of the beginning inventory, purchases made during the period, markdowns, if any, sales, and any inventory losses. The retail method relies on the ratio between the cost and retail price of the items to estimate the ending inventory at cost.
Unfortunately, the provided information is insufficient to perform these calculations, as key figures are missing. Therefore, without the necessary details regarding the inventory figures, the answer would be option b) Cannot be determined.