USD/ZAR Price Analysis: USD strengthens to near 3-week tops, beyond 19.00 mark vs SA Rand

• USD/ZAR continued scaling higher for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday.
• Sustained USD buying remained supportive of the recent strong appreciating move.

The USD/ZAR pair climbed further beyond the 19.00 round-figure mark and touched a near three-week high during the early European session.

Despite the latest optimism over the passage of another $484 billion US economic package by the US Senate, the US dollar stood tall and remained well supported by concerns over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The market worries were further fueled by Thursday's awful PMI prints from the Eurozone and the UK. This comes amid expectations that the world economy will remain weak for some time, even once the lockdowns are eased and continued benefitting the greenback's status as the global currency.

Sustained USD buying was seen as one of the key factors that assisted the pair to build on its recent move up and gain traction for the fourth straight session on Thursday – also marking its eighth day of a positive move in the previous nine.

USD/ZAR 1-hourly chart

Looking at the technical picture, the overnight close above the 19.00 mark might be seen as a fresh trigger for bullish traders and might have already set the stage for an extension of the pair's ongoing positive momentum.

Hence, some follow-through strength back towards challenging record highs around the 19.35 region and a subsequent move beyond mid-19.00s, en-route the key 20.00 psychological mark, now looks a distinct possibility.

Technical levels to watch