Recession Barometer Copper Continues Its Sharp Sell Off

A supersized mining truck is being loaded with ore at the Oyu Tolgoi (Mongolian for Turquoise Hill) open pit copper and gold mine in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, Oct. 11, 2012. With gold prices falling, mining companies are scaling back production and laying off workers. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Copper on July 6 plunged below $7,500 a ton, as increasing fears of a global recession hit the industrial metals market, lowering prices from its record highs a months ago.

The price of copper has dropped by 7.1 percent week over week, according to a Twitter post from Hedgeye, an online investment research and financial media company.