Oil Hits $130 per Barrel

The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which jumped over $4 a barrel to a new record of over $133. The committee grilled executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips Co. (COP, Fortune 500), Shell Oil Co. (RDSA), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and BP (BP) as to how their companies can in good conscience make so much money, while American drivers pay so much at the pump.

"You have to sense what you're doing to us - we're on the precipice here, about to fall into recession," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "Does it trouble any one of you - the costs you're imposing on families, on small businesses, on truckers?"

But even before they were sworn in, the price of oil started to climb even higher. Oil spiked overnight and traded near $132 a barrel today, up almost $3 from yesterday's close.

Oil prices have doubled in the last year and that has been passed on to Americans at the pump. The average price of a gallon of regular gas now stands at a record $3.79.

Looking for relief? Don't expect today's hearing to be any different from the last time the oil chiefs were hauled before Congress. Or the time before. Or the time before that.

"The market has focused on the substantial draw in gasoline in the U.S. and also the large crude oil draw," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "The report has provided a knee-jerk reaction for the market and has driven oil to a new high."

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose as high as $115.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It eased back to $114.94 a barrel, late afternoon in Singapore.

That is 1 cent higher than the overnight settlement record of $114.93 a barrel. During Wednesday's floor session, oil futures made their first move past the $115 mark.

The surge in oil prices reflected concerns about how much gasoline will be available during America's driving season.

Oil prices settled at a record high for the third day in a row on Wednesday. Prices spiked to a record $115.07 a barrel in midday trading, after a government report showed an unexpected crude supply drop.

U.S. light sweet crude for May delivery settled at $114.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude began the year at just under $96 a barrel, which means the price has soared by nearly 20% already this year.