The Chicago Tribune this weekend raised the newsstand price of its Sunday edition by 50 percent — to $2.99 for a single copy. The Sunday Tribune has been $1.99 since 2008.

The only notification came in a two-sentence “Note to Readers” on Page 2: “Effective with this edition, the retail price of a copy of the Sunday Chicago Tribune has been increased to $2.99. The regular Sunday-only subscription rate will remain unchanged at $1.99.”

Tribune Co. officials declined to comment on how the increase may affect single-copy sales, but a spokeswoman released the following statement after the fact: “For the first time in six years, the Chicago Tribune will raise the newsstand price of its Sunday single-copy edition from $1.99 to $2.99, effective April 6. In terms of home delivery, the regular subscription rate will remain unchanged at $1.99.”

One year ago, the Tribune raised its Monday-through-Saturday newsstand price from $1.00 to $1.50. At that time, the company said: “We assess pricing in our marketplace and in relation to our counterparts nationwide."

The Sun-Times newsstand price is $1 on weekdays and $1.75 on Sundays.