NEW YORK - Oil prices fell Friday as investors sold to lock in profits, but analysts doubt oil's record-breaking run is over and say gasoline prices are about to start following crude higher.

Gasoline prices have so far held steady or even fallen despite a rally that boosted oil to new records for eight straight trading sessions on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"That's over now," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "From now on, every $1 a barrel advance in crude has to be accompanied by a 2 1/2 cent increase in gas prices."

Oil's advance has been driven by a combination of the Federal Reserve's half-point interest rate cut, the falling dollar and concerns that tropical storms will strike key oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Interest rates and their role in pulling the dollar lower are drawing fresh investment dollars into energy markets, analysts say. Because oil and other commodities are priced in dollars, they still appear cheaper to overseas investors, whose currencies have strengthened against the dollar.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $81.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

As oil has risen, the spread between what many retailers pay for their gasoline and what they charge consumers has shrunk substantially or even reversed in some cases.

"The people who actually sell the gasoline are really, really suffering," Kloza said.

Retail gas prices in many areas are already a nickel behind where they would need to be to allow retailers to turn a profit, Kloza estimated. Gas prices will likely rise an average of 10 to 15 cents a gallon nationwide over the next couple of weeks, Cordier said.

Still, he doubts prices will again reach the $3 level this year. Oil prices typically peak for the year in early October, Kloza said. When that happens, oil prices will decline into the winter months, pulling gasoline back down.

But in the meantime, he said, oil could rise as high as $91 a barrel.

"Crude will almost certainly go higher in the next 30 days," Kloza said on his blog, Speaking of Oil.