Copper fell in New York, extending this week’s 6.2 percent drop, after initial claims for jobless benefits rose around the U.S., triggering concern that continued weakness in the labor market will prolong the recession. Initial unemployment claims climbed 27,000 in the week ended April 18, the U.S. Labor Department said today. Benefit rolls lengthened to 6.14 million, rising to a record for a 12th straight week. Before today, copper plunged 48 percent in the past year as the recession slashed demand for raw materials. “The jobless claims came out and showed that there is still a lot of weakness in the economy,” said Gijsbert Groenewegen, a partner at Gold Arrow Capital Management in New York. “I’m very hesitant about copper prices right now. We could see them continue to fall.” Copper futures for July delivery dropped 0.7 cent, or 0.3 percent, to $2.0535 a pound at 9:33 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The metal dropped 6.2 percent in the previous three sessions. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid $65, or 1.4 percent, to $4,475 a ton ($2.03 a pound). The price reached a record $8,940 on July 2.

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