Postage rates to rise in January

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The price of a first-class stamp will increase a penny to 46 cents on Jan. 27, the U.S. Postal Service announced.

USPS officials said Thursday postcard postage rates will rise one cent to 33 cents, and postage to international destinations also will increase, CNNMoney reported.

Overall, mailing and shipping prices will climb by an average of 4 percent, officials said. Priority mail prices will rise an average of 6.3 percent.

The price hikes come as the Postal Service is mired in a financial crisis created in part by a 2006 law in which Congress ordered the Postal Service to set aside money for future retiree benefits.

"The Postal Service is in the midst of a financial crisis and pricing adjustments are one way to increase revenue to help the Postal Service return to sound financial footing," USPS spokeswoman Katina Fields said. "We also urgently need enactments of comprehensive, long-term legislation to provide the Postal Service with a more flexible business model."

Among the remedies to the financial crisis the Postal Service has recommended is ending Saturday mail delivery service, closure or consolidation of mail processing plants and the offering of retirement incentives for mail-handlers and postmasters.