Stocks are likely to open flat Thursday, as oil prices rise amid concerns about potential damage from hurricane Rita.

Crude-oil prices rose US$1.20 to US$68 a barrel in early trading Thursday as hurricane Rita grew to a Category 5, story took aim at the largest concentration of oil refineries in the United States, near Houston, Texas.

The jolt in gasoline prices following the devastation of hurricane Katrina helped push the 12-month increase in Canada’s Consumer Price Index up to 2.6% in August from 2.0% in July, Statistics Canada said today.

However, the 12-month change in the All-items index excluding energy rose more moderately from 1.4% in July to 1.6% in August, the government agency said.

There was some positive economic news south of the border. U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 last week to 437,000, the highest level in two years, as workers continued to file for unemployment compensation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The increase in claims was much lower than forecast by economists, who had called for a big increase of 52,000 claims to 450,000 in the week ended Sept. 17.

Later this morning, the U.S.. Conference Board is slated to release the index of leading indicators for August. Economists expect a 0.3% decline.

Overnight in Asia, major markets closed lower.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index fell 37.21 points, or 0.28%, to 13,159.36 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong stocks fell for a second day. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 43.67 points, or 0.3%, to 15,180.

On Wednesday, Toronto stocks closed higher as the prices for both oil and gold spiked higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 53.62, or 0.49%, to 10,957.14.

Volume on the senior exchange was 322 million shares.

The energy sector moved higher 1.3%

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 22.62, or 1.10%, to 2,084.80.

In New York, markets dropped as the price of oil surged and as investors worried over hurricane Rita.

The Dow Jones industrial composite index fell 103.49, or 0.99%, to 10,378.03. The S&P 500 index fell 11.14, or 0.91%, to 1,210.20, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 24.69, or 1.16%, to 2,106.64.