Heading into the winter driving season, and with furnaces sparking back to life, retail fuel prices are tumbling thanks to the steep drop in the world price of oil.

The price of regular unleaded gasoline is down about 15 cents in the past seven or eight weeks and it’s fair to say people at the pumps are pumped about the low prices.

“Oh, I think it's great,” said Karen Burke.

Grant Hartlinsays he’s loving that the price is going down.

“Keep it going down, that's all I hope for,” he said.

Prices have been dropping over the past month throughout the Maritimes, reaching levels not seen since this past March in New Brunswick, for example – and longer than that for Nova Scotia.

That's clearly good news for anyone who needs to fill up. It's also good news for the person that owns the gas station.

“The perception is that higher gas prices are better for retailers, and higher prices aren't as good, but in fact it's the opposite,” said gas station owner Wayne Pace.

That's because owners make a certain set amount on every litre sold, so a change in price doesn't mean any change in profits.

But when prices are high - expenses do the same - and not just for the cost of his main product.

“More importantly is the credit card fees,” Pace said. “We pay more for the higher prices when people use their credit cards.”

And it's not just cheaper to fill up at the pumps either. Anyone who uses home heating fuel has probably also noticed a drop in the price.

Turns out that, too, is good for anyone who sells home heating fuels.

“It’s good for the consumers cause they can get more fuel for their dollar, which is great, and that's what we like to see,” said Mike Thorne, who owns his own home heating fuel delivery company called Quick Save Fuels in Lower Sackville.

“Because it cuts down on our operating costs, as well as any type of fees that we have, and it's also that we get to deliver more product for the consumer at the time of delivery,” Thorne said.

The reasons for the low prices start with a collapse in the price of oil, which is hovering around $50 a barrel.

There's also low demand at a time when there happens to be a lot on the global markets.

“Between the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia, there's a lot of oil getting pumped to the market and it's outstripping the demand,” Lorne Switzer of the John Molson School of Business in Montreal said on Monday.

As for knowing what the price is going to do from here, Pace doesn’t know.

“If I did, I wouldn't be working here,” he said with a laugh.

But, as with most commodities, what comes down usually goes back up again.

Gas prices are scheduled to be adjusted Thursday in New Brunswick and Friday in Nova Scotia.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek.