A Price Change Likely To Get Your STAMP Of Approval

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The price of postage will go down next month!

It's not an early April Fools prank from Uncle Sam. The Postal Regulatory Commission has ordered that the 4.3% surcharge added two years ago to help the US Postal Service climb out of the financial hole created by the Great Recession be lifted.

Right now, a first class stamp is 49 cents. Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo Sr. says on April 10th, it'll go down to 47 cents.

But he says it's a good bet you won't notice the change:

"If you have a forever stamp, whatever the price is, today, tomorrow, five years from now, that stamp's good."

News of the surcharge cut may have you thinking that the postal service is sitting pretty. But Diautolo says even though package volume is up, it's not enough to offset the losses from a big drop in first class single piece mail volume:

"Removing that surcharge and reducing the prices right now, we consider that kind of irrational, especially considering our financial condition. So yes, it's going to hurt us."

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