Inflation in Germany will come in close to 7% this year, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Wednesday as he repeated his call for the European Central Bank to raise its main interest rate in July.

"The Bundesbank is now expecting the inflation rate in Germany to reach close to 7% in 2022," Nagel said in remarks prepared for a speech.

He reaffirmed his view that the ECB should end its stimulus programme at the end of June and increase its policy rate for the first time in over a decade the following month.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Andrew Heavens)