Advertisement

U.S. first-class stamp goes up 2 cents

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The price of a first-class U.S. postage stamp is scheduled to go up to 39 cents -- a 2-cent increase.

The U.S. Postal Service made the announcement weeks ago, but some consumers complain they hadn't heard of the increase, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Advertisement

Sunday's increase for a first-class stamp is necessary because of legislation approved by Congress in 2003 requiring the Postal Service to put aside more than $3 billion each year into escrow beginning in 2006.

Without the escrow requirement, postage rates most likely would have remained at current levels until 2007, the Postal Service said in a statement.

"Postage rates have remained stable since 2002, a direct result of three straight years of operating surpluses and the cash generated from the surpluses have been used to reduce the Postal Service's once $11 billion in debt to zero," the statement said.

Latest Headlines