Seattle, Washington - Amazon is raising the price of its Prime membership service in the US, saying the step is due to higher costs, mainly wages and transportation.

Amazon also pointed to supply chain constraints due to Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The proposed price hikes also reflects the ongoing expansion in Prime member benefits.

While announcing strong fourth-quarter results, Amazon said the monthly fee for Prime subscription service will be increased to $14.99 from the current $12.99, and the annual membership fee to $139 from $119.

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The price change will take effect on February 18 for new Prime members.

For current Prime members, the new price will apply after March 25 on the date of their next renewal.

This is the first time since 2018 that Amazon has raised the price of its paid subscription service Prime, which was launched in 2005. In the US, the initial subscription fee was $79, which was later raised to $99, and then to $119.

In its latest fourth quarter, the company's subscription services, including Prime, generated revenues of $8.12 billion, a growth of 15% from last year. The tech and retail giant's profits skyrocketed to $14.3 billion from $7.2 billion dollars.

The company now said it continues to invest heavily in Prime, by adding more product selection available with fast, free, unlimited Prime shipping.

More exclusive deals and discounts, and more high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, and books, are also available for the service.