New Delhi, March 1 -- OPEC agreed to resume oil production increases next month as a conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran threatened to bolster a rally in crude prices.

Key members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia - which had paused a series of hikes during the first quarter - will add 206,000 barrels a day, according to a statement.

The increase exceeds the monthly increments of just 137,000 barrels a day in the fourth quarter and comes amid turmoil roiling the Middle East. The widening conflict has seen Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed, regional oil production threatened and disruption to traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz - a key route to global markets for some of OPEC 's key members.

Bloomber...