BEIJING—China coal prices hit a record high on Tuesday buoyed by a widening power crunch and cold weather despite Beijing’s efforts to bolster supply. Thermal coal for January delivery, the most actively traded contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, hit a record high of 1,982 yuan per ton. Prices are up more than 260 percent year to date. With winter approaching temperatures in most central and eastern regions have been lower than normal in the past 10 days, data from China’s National Meteorological Center showed. “Plunging temperatures across parts of China stoked fears that shortages in power are likely to increase over the coming northern hemisphere winter,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients. Shortages of coal, high fuel prices, and booming post-pandemic industrial demand have sparked widespread power shortages. Power rationing has been in place in at least 17 of mainland China’s more than 30 regions since September, …