Gains in the dollar have put a brief halt in a three-day run of gains in oil prices. Benchmark crude oil scheduled for December delivery currently (October 27) trades at $81.73 in early New York NYMEX trade.

Current crude oil prices mark an 82 cent decline from Tuesday’s settle price on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Because of anticipated build of crude inventory stockpiles, analysts predict that oil prices are likely to react to the direction of the dollar in the near future. As the dollar improves, oil is going to be limited on upward mobility.

The Energy Department is set to deliver its crude inventory report Wednesday, which Bloomberg’s analyst survey suggests could show an increase of one million barrels of crude last week.

The direction of the dollar remains weak in the long-run, but the greenback has shown some fight the last two days after the US Conference Board’s consumer confidence report showed an improvement in October following September’s seven month low point.

The euro is among major currencies the dollar has moved against, as one euro now trades for just $1.3811, well off its near-term high Monday at $1.4052. A pound still fetches a respectable $1.5825, despite a slight dip Wednesday morning.

The dollar is currently netting 81.71 yen, just above the long-term low recently established at 80.4150.

Even gold, the stalwart of the commodities, has faded from its quest for $1,400. Gold made a fast move toward $1,400 after clearing $1,300, and moved as high as $1,381.20 on October 14th. However, speculative interest has backed off with the dollar rise and the current gold spot rate is $1,328.50.

Oil prices, meanwhile, are expected to remain somewhat range bound in the $75-85 range according to many analysts. This is likely to be the case until a more definitive direction on the economy recovery takes shape, allowing traders to make a stronger play.