UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 21

Copper tumbled below $2 a pound for the first time since

December 2005 on speculation that the world economy is

headed for a recession that will reduce demand for metals.

China, the biggest contributor to global growth, expanded at

the slowest pace in five years in the third quarter, a report

showed yesterday. U.S. lawmakers and officials moved toward

forging a second fiscal-stimulus package to stem the economic

decline. Before today, copper dropped 30 percent this year as

consumption slumped.

Copper futures for December delivery fell 8.4 cents, or 4 percent,

to $2.0325 a pound at 11:04 a.m. on the Comex division of the

New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched

$1.992, the lowest for a most-active contract since Dec. 21, 2005.

The metal rose to a record $4.2605 on May 5.