Stamp prices to increase one cent in January
Stamp prices in 2013: First-class letters increase from 45 to 46 cents; postcards rise from 32 to 33 cents. Stamp prices for international delivery will be $1.10 no matter what the destination.
In this 2008 file photo, Dana Pinero of New York, foreground, waits in line to mail tax returns in New York. As of January, stamp prices increase a penny for first-class letters and postcards.
Tina Fineberg/AP/File
WASHINGTON
The cost of mailing a first-class letter will go up by a penny in January.
The Postal Regulatory Commission on Friday approved the proposed rate increase, which raises the price of a first-class domestic stamp to 46 cents.
The price of a postcard will increase from 32 cents to 33 cents, while a new global "forever" stamp will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10. Currently, the prices for international letters vary.
The prices go into effect Jan. 27.
The U.S. Postal Service, which posted a record annual loss of $15.9 billion, proposed the rate increase last month.
The rate increase is tied to the rate of overall inflation. It will make only a small dent in the mail agency's financial losses.