BERLIN, June 8 (Xinhua) -- German factory orders fell 3.8 percent in April from the previous month as higher energy prices and uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict weighed on industrial demand, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed on Monday.

KUKA's robot factory in Augsburg, southern Germany on 28 June, 2017. (File photo: Xinhua)

The decline was broad-based across key industries. Orders in the automotive sector dropped 5.3 percent from March, while bookings for electrical equipment fell 16.3 percent and machinery orders declined 7.4 percent.

Weak external demand weighed on overall activity. Foreign orders decreased 4.2 percent, driven largely by an 11.1 percent slump in demand from eurozone countries.

Economists said the figures underscored persistent challenges facing German industry, which continues to grapple with sluggish demand, elevated energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty.

Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank, said Germany's economy was likely to contract slightly in the second quarter, adding that the Middle East conflict was "taking its toll."

Jupp Zenzen, an economic expert at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), said the conflict, rising oil and gas prices and the resulting uncertainty were weighing on economic activity. He added that structural weaknesses in Germany as a business location continued to burden companies.