Copper rises after selloff, but heads for weekly loss amid AI rout

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Copper prices inched higher on Friday after a sharp selloff in the previous session, but remained on track for a weekly fall as concerns surrounding Nvidia and AI investment outweighed support from tight supplies in top consumer China.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.68% to $13,680 a metric ton by 0145 GMT. Prices hit a four-month low of $13,515 on Thursday, weighed down by AI worries and a stronger US dollar.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.13% to 105,280 yuan ($15,783.16) a ton.

Copper has declined 0.65% so far this week as investors turned cautious on tech and AI-linked stocks, raising concerns about future spending on data centres, which are expected to be a growing source of demand for the metal.

Nvidia NVDA.O CEO Jensen Huang resigned on Thursday, raising concerns about whether demand tied to AI infrastructure would remain strong.

Broader uncertainty over US policy after the midterm elections and opposition to some new data-centre projects also added to caution.

Copper found some support from supply tightness in China. The Yangshan copper premium , a gauge of China's appetite for imported metal, rose to a record $240 a ton, as of Thursday.

Domestic premium paid over the SHFE copper contract has, however, plunged to 775 yuan a ton, as of Thursday, from a record high of 2,615 yuan set on November 6.

Among other LME metals, aluminium fell 0.18%, zinc rose 0.70%, lead gained 0.21%, nickel slipped 0.10% and tin climbed 0.96%.

On the SHFE, aluminium fell 0.22%, zinc declined 0.16%, lead rose 0.77%, nickel slipped 0.07% and tin jumped 1.42%.

($1 = 6.6704 Chinese yuan)