The United States Postal Service plans to raise the price of postage stamps to 63 cents

The United States Postal Service (USPS) said on Friday that it will increase the price of first-class Forever stamps from 60 cents to 63 cents to account for inflationary costs.

The USPS notified the Postal Regulatory Commission of the proposed hike and desires that it go into effect on January 22. The postmaster general of the United States, Louis DeJoy, indicated in August that inflation will cause USPS costs to exceed its 2022 budget projection by well over $1 billion.

The price of a single-piece letter and a flat additional ounce will remain unchanged, however the price of an international letter will increase by five cents to $1.45.

According to USPS, the cost of first-class mail will increase by 4.2%.

DeJoy has said that the USPS has undercharged for package and mail delivery for several years.

The USPS reported net losses of more than $90 billion from 2007 until August, when it claimed a one-time, non-cash windfall of $59.6 billion after President Joe Biden signed financial relief legislation. Despite having to deliver to a growing number of addresses, the USPS has suffered with diminishing mail volume.

The proposed change outlined by DeJoy in March 2021 aims to eliminate the predicted losses of $160 billion over the next decade.

DeJoy warned that despite improvements, losses will still reach $60 to $70 billion over the next decade, and the USPS would need to reduce operating expenses by $35 to $40 billion.

"I must use price," DeJoy declared in July, adding that he feels mailers "got a deal for the past decade, and we're charging them."

The price of a first-class stamp rose from 58 cents to 60 cents in July, after a 3-cent hike in August 2021.

The U.S. Postal Service will get $3 billion from Congress to enhance its acquisition of electric cars and charging infrastructure. In July, the U.S. Postal Service declared its intent to acquire at least 250,000 electric cars.