Amazon Prime’s price bump is only half as much as expected

The price of an Amazon Prime membership was raised Thursday, but only half as much as the online retailer had said it was considering a month ago. Amazon announced the annual membership will now cost $99 a year, up from $79. A student membership will cost $49 annually. In February, Amazon said it was considering raising the price to $119 a year. The company said blamed the increase on increase fuel and shipping costs.