(Reuters) – The United States Postal Service (USPS) on Wednesday filed notice of price change with the Postal Regulatory Commission that includes a two-cent increase in the price of a first-class mail forever stamp from 58 cents to 60 cents.
The proposed hike in prices comes ahead of President Joe Biden’s announcement for an about $50 billion financial relief over a decade to the USPS.
The proposal would raise prices of first-class mail, an affordable way to send envelopes and lightweight packages, by about 6.5%, USPS said.
If the price hike goes through, the single-piece letter additional ounce price would increase to 24 cents, the metered mail one-ounce price would increase to 57 cents and the price of a postcard stamp would increase to 44 cents. A one-ounce letter mailed to other countries would increase to $1.40.
Forever stamps can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used and no matter how prices may change in the future.
Struggling with diminishing mail volumes despite having to deliver to a growing number of addresses, USPS has reported net losses of more than $90 billion since 2007. In February, it booked a quarterly net loss of $1.5 billion.
The new prices, if favorably reviewed will take effect from July 10.
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
