(New: Statement of the Post)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - Alleged Deutsche Post brainstorms about withdrawing from letter delivery left shareholders of the Dax group cold on Tuesday. According to the "Welt" newspaper, there are plans at Deutsche Post to withdraw from the so-called "universal service" and return the duty of nationwide letter delivery to the state. The newspaper referred to information from the works council. The Group, however, denied this.

The Post paper fluctuated around its previous day's close. In the afternoon, it last went up by 0.11 percent to 39.99 euros, while the Dax fell slightly. The share price thus continued to hover around the round 40-euro mark.

According to its own statement, Deutsche Post intends to continue delivering letters and parcels throughout Germany. It has no plans to withdraw from the so-called universal service and wants to "continue to make this important contribution to the basic service," the Group announced.

As a universal service provider, Deutsche Post must deliver items everywhere in Germany, unlike its competitors. In return for this nationwide presence, it does not pay sales tax on revenue from letter and parcel delivery./mis/wdw/niw/tih/mis