US Panel Told Oil Could Slide If Speculation Restrained:

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on Monday is the latest in a series of committee meetings focused on probing the role of speculators.

A first panel of energy experts told the committee crude prices would fall with stricter regulation about 50% from current levels above $135 a barrel, with retail gasoline that's now over $4 a gallon following suit.

"Prices would probably drop over a reasonably short period of time back to somewhere closer to the marginal production cost of oil, to $65 to $70...and I think gas prices would reflect that in a relatively short order," said Mike Masters, a hedge fund manager testifying before a Congressional panel probing speculation in the energy markets

and today there appears to be an emergency bill introduced in the house to try to stop speculation.

he U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets

Just "overwhelmingly" passed.

does:

would require the CFTC to act against "sudden or unreasonable fluctuations" in energy futures prices and other trading activities that "prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities

Now what that means in specifics, looks like we need to understand.