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The US Postal Service fee increases go into effect Sunday

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Next time you ship via the United States Postal Service (USPS), it will cost you extra.

The USPS rate hike, which lifted prices for first-class mail by 6.5%, went into effect Sunday, the agency said. When the USPS made its announcement in April, it noted that the 6.5% increase would still be below inflation, which is currently at a rate of 8.6%.

However, this likely won’t be the last increase from the USPS.

In May, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Americans should get used to “inconvenient” increases in postage rates in the years to come as the US Postal Service attempts to become self-sufficient.

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The Postal Service Board of Governors sets postage rates, but DeJoy said he will campaign for a rate increase until “we’ve achieved our goal of projecting a trajectory that shows we’re carrying ourselves.”

USPS employees at the facility

Fox glimpsed a USPS processing and distribution center in Dulles, Virginia, as Americans rush to get last-minute gifts in the mail. (FNC/Fox News)

This goal is set out in the USPS’ 10-year plan, Delivering for America. As part of this plan, the USPS is working to break even by fiscal 2023 and avoid a projected $160 billion in losses over the next 10 years.

The price adjustments, effective Sunday, “will help execute the Delivering for America plan, including a $40 billion investment in the postal service’s core infrastructure over the next decade,” according to the USPS.

Here are the price changes according to Stamps.com, an independent provider of the USPS.

  • First Class Mail (1 ounce) letter rate for postage purchased at the Post Office: increase of two cents to $0.60. Each additional ounce costs $0.24.
  • The Metered Mail rate for First Class Mail letters (1 ounce): Increase of four cents to $0.57.

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  • First Class Mail Flats/Large Envelopes (1 ounce): Increased four cents to $1.20. Each additional ounce costs $0.24.
  • First Class Mail International (1 ounce): Increase 10 cents to $1.40.
Priority Mail at USPS

Detail view of the USPS logo on a priority mail. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images/Getty Images)

  • Postcards: Increased four cents to $0.44.

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  • First Class Mail International (1 ounce): Increase 10 cents to $1.40.
  • Registered Mail: Increase 25 cents to $4.00.
  • Media Mail: Up 9% to $3.49.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.