North American markets are expected to open flat Monday as oil prices climb past US$60 a barrel.

Crude-oil prices jumped to a new high of US$60.47 earlier today amid concerns that supplies won’t meet demand, especially in the U.S.

After settling at US$59.84 a barrel Friday, the front-month August contract crude broke through the$60 barrier in heavy Asian trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

No major economic data are scheduled for release Monday.

In company news, PetroKazakhstan Inc. today confirmed it is in talks with potential buyers or partners.

The Calgary-based oil and gas firm, which operates in the Asian republic of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet state, has been in a long-running dispute with Russian oil giant Lukoil over a joint venture.

In other news, Jack Mintz, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute since 1999, announced that he will step down from the position in the summer of 2006.

On Friday, Toronto stocks ended essentially flat after a quiet session, while U.S. markets dropped significantly for the second straight day, under pressure from high oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 2.21, or 0.02%, to close 9,9996.17. Volume was relatively thin at 181 million shares.

The benchmark index stocks ended up less than 0.5% on the week after failing to close above 10,000 for more than a single session.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 3.24, or 0.19%, to close Friday at 1,718.95.

On Wall Street, the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average dropped 123.60, or 1.19%, to 10,297.84. In the previous session, the Dow fell back 166.49 points.

The tech heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 17.39, or 0.84%, to 2,053.27, while the broad based S&P 500 index fell back 9.16, or 0.76%, to close 1,191.57.

For the week, the Dow fell 3.06%,the S&P 500 lost 2.09%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.76%.