Copper futures fell Thursday, briefly dropping below $2 a pound for the first time in two weeks as a rise in U.S. jobless claims dampened hopes for economic recovery. Copper for July delivery was last down 2.2 cents, or 1.1%, at $2.009 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It tumbled to $1.975 earlier, moving below the $2 level for the first time since the end of April. June gold rose slightly, up $1.60, or 0.2%, to $927.50 an ounce. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending May 9 rose 32,000 to 637,000, the Labor Department reported. It's the highest level since mid-April. The four-week average of initial claims rose 6,000 to 630,500. See full story. Economists estimated that about 27,000 Chrysler employees are eligible to file claims in the wake of the company's bankruptcy filing. "Current sentiment is beginning to recognize that the recent economic data pointing to a moderation in the pace of contraction of economic activity ... [but it] is not yet a turnaround in current conditions," analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a research report. "Significant recovery is not expected elsewhere until towards the end of the summer at the earliest," they added. Copper inventories at London Metal Exchange stood at 373,750 tons as of Wednesday, down 5,275 tons from a day ago and 118,250 tons from a month ago. In other economic news, the Labor Department reported wholesale prices rose 0.3% in April after seasonable adjustments, with higher food prices offsetting a drop in energy prices. The producer price index has fallen 3.7% in the past year, the biggest year-over-year fall since January 1950, the government said. In currencies trading, the dollar reduced its earlier gains, with the dollar index (DXY 82.58, +0.08, +0.10%) up slightly at 82.485. A stronger greenback tends to push down dollar-denominated commodities prices, such as gold and oil. "The dollar was another source of selling pressure on commodities," Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global, wrote in a note. "The recent declines are putting some of the metals in a position where they could shortly take out their most recent up channels, resulting in a marked deterioration in their charts," he added. Crude-oil futures also fell, as the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts for this year's global oil demand. In other metals, July silver sank 3.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $13.985 an ounce. June palladium lost $2.30, or 1%, to $224.45 an ounce, and the July contract for platinum declined $12.10, or 1.1%, to $1,111.10 an ounce.

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