The global economic slowdown and a drop in demand for fuel have brought the price of a gallon of gas below $2 at some local stations for the first time since March 2005.

"Lower gas prices are great for my business, for my customers and my employees," said Charley Jones, owner of Stinker Stations, who buys 10,000 gallons of gasoline at a time. "I just regret that it's taken a worldwide recession to bring them down."

Some retailers that reported gas under $2 a gallon Thursday in Boise included certain Maverik, 7-Eleven and Flying J stores.

A Lewiston Flying J reported one of the lowest prices in the state: $1.69 per gallon.

Thank the collapse in oil prices.

"It is hard to believe oil was trading at $147 a barrel in July and is trading at $50 today," said Dave Carlson of AAA Idaho. "I have never seen such a precipitous drop in such a short period of time."

The average Boise gas price was $2.09 Thursday, Carlson said, but it should continue to drop in the coming days.

Carlson said he can't predict how low prices will go, although he sees the Boise area slowly catching up to the rest of the country. The national average price of gas on Thursday was $2.02, according to AAA.

Several factors have contributed to the decline in prices. When prices rose to more than $4 a gallon for gasoline and even higher for diesel, significant demand destruction resulted, said Suzanne Budge, executive director of the Idaho Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

On top of that, she said, speculators in the futures market drove the price of fuel beyond what was sustainable. Now speculators are getting pummeled.

Changes in consumer behavior caused by high prices have played a huge role, Jones said.

"They're riding bikes," he said. "They're riding motorcycles, and they're taking the bus."

And folks are worried about what's happening in the larger economy, Jones said.

"Now that gas is less expensive today, are they changing their behavior? No," he said.

A 15-gallon fill-up six months ago of 87-octane gasoline cost $56.23. "Today, that cost is $31.30," Carlson said.

Less gasoline coming into the state means less money in fuel taxes coming into state coffers. This will mean less money for road and bridges, said state Fuels Tax Manager Dar Walters.

A comparison of the gallons of gasoline received in Idaho in the first eight months of 2008 and the same period in 2007 shows a 7.8 percent decrease, or 34.7 million gallons.

In August 2008, the amount of gasoline entering the state was down 6.8 million gallons or 10.9 percent over the same month last year.

Bethann Stewart: 377-6393.

Patrick Orr contributed to this story.