WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The cost of sending your mail is going to get a bit more expensive later this year if a newly proposed price increase for stamps is approved.
It comes as the United States Postal Service announced this week they’ve filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of proposed price changes set to take effect July 10. If approved, the new stamp price would include a two-cent increase for First-Class Mail and Forever Stamps with the cost climbing from 58 cents to 60 cents.
“The proposed prices, approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, would raise First-Class Mail prices approximately 6.5 percent which is lower than the Bureau of Labor Statistics annual inflation rate of 7.9 percent as of the end of February,” according to the USPS earlier this week. “The price changes reflect a judicious implementation of the Postal Service’s pricing authority provided by the Postal Regulatory Commission.”
What else is being proposed?
“If favorably reviewed by the PRC, the single-piece letter additional ounce price would increase to 24 cents, the metered mail 1-ounce price would increase to 57 cents and the price of a postcard stamp would increase to 44 cents,” the USPS noted. “A one-ounce letter mailed to other countries would increase to $1.40 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail, Post Office Box rental fees, Money Order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.”
The PRC will review these price increase proposals before they are set to take effect.
“As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, including a $40 billion investment in core Postal Service infrastructure over the next 10 years,” the USPS said. “With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping.”
MORE HEADLINES:
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on April 7, 2022.