$5 gas in Florida likely, AAA says

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Gov. Ron DeSantis, in echoing AAA's forecast, expects gas prices to hit $5 a gallon in Florida.

The state average jumped 18 cents last week and reached a new all-time high of $4.762 cents a gallon, AAA said Monday.

And AAA anticipates the pain at the pump this week could get even worse.

"Gasoline made very strong gains in the futures market last week," AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said. "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."

The national average of gasoline is $4.865, according to the AAA calculator.

"This is a huge, huge burden on a lot of people," DeSantis said Monday during a news conference in Jacksonville.

South Florida continues to have some of the highest gas prices in the state.

Palm Beach County is averaging $4.90 a gallon, the highest in the state.

These counties round out the top 10 with the highest average price of gasoline:

• Jefferson County: $4.848
• Monroe County: $4.819
• Suwannee County: $4.817
• Hendry County: $4.810
• Martin County: $4.806
• Broward County: $4.803
• DeSoto County: $4.800
• Dixie County: $4.798
• Miami-Dade County: $4.797

Gas prices for the rest of our viewing area are:

• Indian River County: $4.791
• St. Lucie County: $4.781
• Okeechobee County: $4.780

A year ago, Floridians paid an average of $2.85 a gallon.