Postal Rates to Rise in April

The U.S. Postal Service will announce rate increases for most classes of mail, but apparently not for the First-Class stamp, later today, according to a reliable source. Postal officials put the word out today to some mailing associations that rates for the “market-dominant” classes—First-Class, Standard and Periodicals—would rise in mid-April. The average increase for each class is capped at 1.741 percent, based on annual changes in the Consumer Price Index.

A postal official indicated it would keep the price of a First-Class stamp at 44 cents, enabling it to impose higher-than-cap increases on First-Class flats.