The price of oil has fallen by nearly half in just six months, a surprising and steep plunge that has consumers cheering, producers howling and economists wringing their hands over whether this is a good or bad thing.
The price of a barrel of oil is just under $58, down from a summer high of $107, and lower than at any time since the U.S. was still in recession in the spring of 2009.
So what's going on? A global imbalance of supply and demand that is rippling across the world economy, for better and worse.
