M.P. Patel said he hasn't turned a profit this week at his Gainesville gas station.
With the price of crude oil skyrocketing, Patel says he should be charging about $3.05 per gallon.
But to stay competitive, he set his price at $2.98 Monday and watched his daily totals go into the red.
"We're not making a penny," said Patel, owner of the Texaco at Lakeshore gas station on Dawsonville Highway. "...People who are spending more at the pump are spending less inside the store. The store is suffering (and) we're hardly breaking even on the gas pumps."
Georgia gas prices have jumped almost 10 cents in the last week and nearly 25 cents in the last month, according to AAA numbers. Crude oil prices hit a two-year high on Dec. 23 at $91.51 per barrel.
This year was the first year in history that consumers paid more than $3 per gallon for gas on Christmas Eve, according to AAA.
The current national average of $3.04 per gallon is unusually high for this time of year, experts say, and 44 cents higher than the price this time last year.
"This indeed was the first holiday season ever that Americans have been paying this much at the pump," said Nancy White, spokeswoman for AAA. "...This is really quite an anomaly that we would see prices soar at this time of year. They tend to fall off late fall and in the winter and then surge again as we get into spring and summer travel."
White said the increase has been caused in part by increased demand overseas. She said there is no way to know when prices will drop.
Patel said the price hikes have been disorienting for many of his customers.
"It is confusing," he said. "It's just the wrong time of the year to have an increase like this."
Monday, at a Chevron station on E.E. Butler Parkway, Mike Lee of Gainesville said he's lucky his work as a landscaper slows down this time of year and allows him to cut down on his car usage.
As he filled his silver Passat with gas at the price of $2.99 per gallon, he said he just hopes it doesn't hit $3.
"You hate it, but what can you do?" he said. "I don't think I've ever seen prices go up this quickly."