NEWS

The Postal Service Wants to Raise the Price of a First-Class Stamp to 66 Cents

The increase, which the Postal Service says is needed to offset the rise in inflation, would take effect July 9 if the Postal Regulatory Commission approves it.

The USPS said last month that it was seeking approval to raise the price of first-class mail stamps from 63 cents to 66 cents.

The USPS was allowed to raise stamp prices to 63 cents from 60 cents in January. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the new rate hike — which the USPS says is necessary to offset rising inflation — will take effect on July 9.

The price change has been approved by the USPS Board of Governors. The program seeks to increase the overall price of regular mail by 5.4%.

If approved, stamp prices would rise 32% since they rose from 50 cents to 55 cents in early 2019.

USPS has been increasing first-class mail revenue as higher prices offset lower volumes.

First-class mail, which most people use to send letters and pay bills, is the highest-grossing mail category, accounting for $24.2 billion, or 31%, of the $78.8 billion in total USPS revenue in 2022.

The USPS said in February that revenue for the final three months of 2022 was $21.5 billion, up $206 million, or 1%, while sales fell 1.7 billion units, or 4.8%. USPS reported a net loss of $1 billion for the quarter.

First-Class Mail revenue increased $95 million, or 1.5%, as volumes decreased 587 million units, or 4.5%, compared with the same period in 2021. First-Class Mail sales remain below pre-pandemic levels.

forever stamps

The U.S. Postal Service won approval to raise stamp prices from 60 cents to 63 cents in January.Jenny Kane / AP file

“High inflation continues to have a significant impact on our results,” Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett said in February.

In April 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation providing approximately $50 billion in financial assistance to the USPS over a decade. Since 2007, the USPS has reported net losses of more than $90 billion.

Congress also forgave $10 billion in COVID-19 loans to USPS in 2020 from the U.S. Treasury Department, and last year awarded USPS $3 billion to purchase electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

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About Jose Beltran

Jose Beltran is a distinguished specialist in philately with a distinguished professional background. With more than 20 years of experience, he has worked at prestigious institutions such as the Philatelic Institute. Throughout their careers, Tony has carefully researched and cataloged countless rare and valuable postage stamps, developing unparalleled expertise in identification and valuation. In addition to his practical expertise, Tony is an accomplished writer. Tony's engaging and informative writing style has made them sought-after columnists for prominent philatelic magazines.

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