Sending a letter just got more expensive, as rising costs forced the U.S. Post Office to raise prices on first class stamps from 41cents to 42cents, effective Monday. It's time again for customers to dig for those 1 cent stamps, or break out the forever stamps and avoid the rate hike altogether.
For users who are out of penny stamps, the Post Office has printed nearly 1.5 billion 1-cent stamps in the last month, preparing for what many predict will be a run on penny stamps.
The cost to send a post card is also up, now costing $0.27 cents.
For consumers who purchased the "forever" stamps for 41-cents, the latest rate increase and any future hikes will not hurt their pocketbook. The "forever" stamps will work for any first-class postage regardless of any increases. However, when rates increase, the "forever" stamps are sold at the new price.
The cost to mail a Priority mail flat-rate envelope will increase 25 cents to $4.75. Express mail flat envelopes will also cost a quarter more, up to $16.50.
International rates are also going up. Mailing letters to the United States' neighbors to the north and south, Canada and Mexico, will tick up to 72-cents. Most other countries will cost 94 cents.
Back in August 2006, Congress passed legislation requiring the U.S. postal service to make a profit and reinvest that money into its infrastructure. Prior to that legislation, the independent government entity was required to just break even.
The Post Office is not taxpayer supported. They handled nearly 1 billion pieces of mail in the first three months of 2008, and despite recent rate hikes the organization reported a loss for the quarter. However, they are expecting to break even for the first six months.
The legislation also required the Post Office to adjust their rates every May. It is likely that rates will continue to increase annually, as the rising cost of gas cuts into profits. For every penny increase in price per gallon, the Post Office incurs an additional $8 million in costs every year.
Last week FedEx Corp. (FDX) cut its earnings outlook for the fourth quarter, blaming surging fuel prices and a weak economy that has curtailed demand for U.S. domestic express package and less-than-truckload freight services.
"Since we provided earnings guidance for the fourth quarter in March when the crude oil price was slightly above $100 per barrel, our estimated fuel costs for the quarter have increased more than 7 percent, or $100 million from our previous estimate, and the weak economy has restrained demand for U.S. domestic express package and LTL freight services," said Alan Graf, Jr., FedEx Corp. chief financial officer.
The second largest U.S. package-shipping company said it now expects forth quarter earnings to be in the range of $1.45 to $1.50 per share, compared to its prior outlook of $1.60 to $1.80 per share.
Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.69 per share for the fourth quarter.
Though the company has dynamic fuel surcharges in place, they cannot keep pace in the short-term with rapidly rising fuel prices, FedEx noted.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.