The price of oil rose surged past $112 a barrel Wednesday. U.S. benchmark oil for October delivery rose $3.02, or 2.8 percent, to $112.03 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices jumped $3.09 to close at $109.01 a barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday. The last time oil closed above $112 a barrel was on May 2, 2011. Still, oil remains far below its record close of $145.29 a barrel, reached on July 3, 2008.