Australian gold producers are on tenterhooks as the market’s standout commodity heads into a make-or-break year when fortunes could sharply diverge, depending on which way the price of the precious metal is headed.

After a record run in June that sent gold surging past $US3400 an ounce ($5181 an ounce) amid geopolitical unrest and safe-haven demand, the outlook for the precious metal will be a key driver of performance for the ASX-listed miners. On Monday, gold was trading around $US3355.6 an ounce.