TEHRAN, (Reuters) – Oil demand is expected to increase next year after a decline in 2009, Iran’s OPEC governor was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

“Considering the relative recovery of the global economy, it is expected that oil demand in the year 2010 will be increased between 500,000 and 1 million barrels,” the Mehr News Agency quoted Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying.

“In the current year the oil demand was negative compared to the previous year,” he said, without giving more details.