Postal Service raising stamp prices again

The increase comes amid a “severe financial crisis.”

By MEGAN SWIFT
TribLive

The U.S. Postal Service is raising the price of a Forever stamp, and it’s happening this weekend.

The new rate is a 4-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp — from 78 to 82 cents — starting on Sunday.

The Postal Service cited its “severe financial crisis” and “continued operational costs” as reasoning.

“The Postal Service is using all available tools, including available regulatory pricing authority, to ensure we can continue to fulfill our universal service obligation and serve the American public,” the announcement said.

The federal entity said it “generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses” — and it instead relies on the sale of postage, products and services as funding.

“We are running out of cash, and we have to make tradeoffs,” Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers earlier this year, NewsNation reported. “We would love to have brand new trucks driving through the neighborhoods safely, but we don’t have enough cash to do it.”

Specific product prices will include:

• Letters (1 ounce) 78 cents to 82 cents.

• Letters (metered 1 ounce) 74 cents to 78 cents.

• Domestic postcards 61 cents to 65 cents.

• International postcards $1.70 to $1.75.

• International letter (1 ounce) $1.70 to $1.75.

Overall, the change will raise mailing services product prices approximately 4.8%, USPS said.

However, the additional- ounce price for single- piece letters will remain at 29 cents, according to the announcement.

The U.S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission in April regarding the proposed mailing services price changes, USPS said.