By Millie Munshi Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices tumbled to the lowest since July 2005 in New York on signs that the global recession is deepening, eroding demand for industrial metals. First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance rose last week to the highest level since 1992, the Labor Department said today. More than $32 trillion has been erased from the value of global equities this year as the U.S., Japan and some European nations fell into recession. Before today, copper plunged 62 percent from a record in May. ``The outlook for the global economy has declined rapidly in the past few weeks, increasing expectations of a protracted and severe downturn,'' Alex Heath, the London-based head of industrial metals at RBC Capital Markets, said in a report. ``The market is bracing itself for further weakness.'' Copper futures for March delivery dropped 4.85 cents, or 3 percent, to $1.561 a pound at 9:12 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $1.5575, the lowest since July 19, 2005. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months declined $150, or 4.2 percent, to $3,440 a metric ton ($1.56 a pound). To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.

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