The new year prospects for Jefferson Smurfit and its 33 per cent-owned US associate Smurfit Stone have been considerably enhanced after Smurfit Stone told its customers yesterday that it was raising its linerboard price from February 1st by $50 a ton to $475 a ton, with the price for corrugated being lifted by $60 a ton to $460 a ton.

This is the third time in the space of a year that Smurfit Stone has raised its product prices and indicates the strength of consumer demand in the United States where manufacturers are needing more and more corrugated containers for their products.

Industry sources said that this price rise was particularly significant as only a few months Smurfit had warned the packaging industry about trying to impose too many price increases because of a danger that over-aggressive pricing might hit their customers too hard.

The price increase, however, had been expected and had little impact on either Smurfit or Smurfit Stone shares, even though brokers believe they will have to revise upwards their earnings forecasts for the two companies.