Unprecedented steps by Beijing to snuff out a months-long rally in coal prices are casting fresh doubts on China’s drive to become a global price-setting hub for commodities worth trillions of dollars. The world’s top consumer of many raw materials has been pushing to boost its influence on pricing of everything from iron ore to oil, mainly through steps such as promoting Chinese futures contracts as regional or global benchmarks. But analysts and traders said that a wave of moves to cool coal prices, which surged as a side-effect of radical government measures to fight pollution by curbing mining, show that Beijing could be reluctant to let markets trade freely and openly. “(Moves like those taken in coal markets) dampen hopes from investors that the government will […]