The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida hit a record-high $4.76 on Sunday and likely will continue to rise, the AAA auto club said. "Unfortunately, the pain at the pump is likely to get even worse this week," AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a prepared statement Monday.

"Gasoline made very strong gains in the futures market last week. When that happens, we normally see retail prices rise. It can take days or a week for pump prices to reflect the change, but It wouldn't be a surprise to see retailers raise their prices another 20 cents by Monday night. At this rate, it sure seems like there's very little resistance to rising prices at the pump, and $5 a gallon is quickly becoming a very real possibility this summer.”

AAA pointed to a combination of factors for the surge in prices, including the European Union largely moving to ban Russian oil imports amid the Ukraine war. Sunday’s price of regular unleaded in Florida was up 18 cents a gallon from a week earlier and 58 cents from a month earlier, according to AAA. The state’s most-expensive gas was in the West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas. The least-expensive gas was in the Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and Panama City areas.

Late last week, Sen. Rick Scott said that "enough was enough," alleging that gas prices were soaring as a result  of president Joe Biden's support for "Green New Deal Policies"

“While families are already struggling with raging inflation, gas prices in liberal blue-state California are skyrocketing over $8 thanks to @JoeBiden & the Democrats’ socialist Green New Deal policies. Enough is enough. We need to make America energy independent again," stated Sen. Scott.

“While families are already struggling with raging inflation, gas prices in liberal blue-state California are skyrocketing over $8 thanks to @JoeBiden & the Democrats’ socialist Green New Deal policies. Enough is enough. We need to make America energy independent again.

The Floridian Publisher Javier Manjarres contributed to this News Service of Florida Story.