Crude-oil prices sank below $50 a barrel, and the average cost of a gallon of gasoline at the pump hovered just above $2, a free fall in prices that is reverberating through the economy.

• 原有价格已经降至每桶50美元，而每加仑原天然气平均价格也停止在略高于2美元的水平。在当前的经济形势下，能源价格出现多次猛跌不止的情况。