USPS plans 5¢ letter rate increase, other price hikes for July 13

By Linn’s Staff

The United States Postal Service announced April 9 that it will boost the price of a first-class forever stamp to 78¢, a 5¢ increase from the current 73¢ price.

If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the change will be effective July 13, along with a series of other increases.

A number of other proposed increases were announced by the Postal Service.

Metered first-class letters will rise to 74¢ from 69¢.

The additional-ounce rate for first-class letters will jump 1¢ from 28¢ to 29¢.

Domestic postcards will increase to 62¢ from 56¢, and international letters will rise to $1.70 from $1.65.

In an April 9 news release, the Postal Service indicated the proposed increases were approximately 7.4 percent on average.

The press release also included exceptions to the pending higher rates.

“The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for the Special Services products,” the USPS said. “Notably, the Postal Service will apply a price reduction of 12 percent for postal insurance when mailing an item.

The rate increases were defended by the USPS by stating that the new rates would help achieve goals related to the 10-year Delivering for America plan.

The Postal Service is also proposing prices to address the “pending proposal to eliminate Bound Printed Matter and expand Marketing Mail.”

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