The United States Postal Service recently filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of price changes to take effect July 10. The new prices, if favorably reviewed, include a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, 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 Labor Statistics annual inflation rate of 7.9 percent as of the end of February. The price changes reflect a judicious implementation of the Postal Service's pricing authority provided by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The proposed Mailing Services price changes include:

Product	Current Price	Planned Price
Letters (1 oz.)	58 cents	60 cents
Letters (metered 1 oz.)	53 cents	57 cents
Letters additional ounce(s)	20 cents	24 cents
Domestic Postcards	40 cents	44 cents
International Letter (1 oz.)	$1.30	$1.40

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. 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.

The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect.