WASHINGTON — Beginning in January, all new postage stamps good for 1 ounce of first-class mail will be marked as “forever.”

The U.S. Postal Service is doing away with issuing first-class stamps with denominations.

A Postal Service official told The Associated Press that the move was designed to help customers who have struggled to match 1- and 2-cent stamps with first-class stamps after postal rates have changed.

The Forever Stamp, first issued in April 2007, is designed for use regardless of changes in postage.

A first-class stamp is now 44 cents, but the Postal Service hopes to raise the price next year.