Gold has displayed a surprising resilience against the US dollar in recent months, giving the precious metal a tidy boost in Australian dollar terms. ANZ commodities analyst Victor Thianpiriya sees gold rising to $US1280 this year, an increase that Foster Stockbroking says could benefit smaller resource companies such as Beadell Resources and Northern Star Resources .

The metal’s price has held steadily over the last 12 months, and rose 0.8 per cent to $US1218 an ounce on Friday, a slight increase on its 2014 opening price of $US1205.