In April, factory orders in Germany fell as persistent inflation drove a reduction in large-scale purchases, according to data from the nation’s federal statistics office Destatis, released on Tuesday.

New manufacturing orders fell overall by 0.4% from the prior month. The decline in orders was significantly reduced from the reading in March, when orders fell 10.9% from February’s total, marking the largest decline since April of 2020, when the nation was undergoing the beginning of the pandemic-era lockdowns. The decline was still notable compared to a year prior, however with the year over year decline coming in at 9.9%, compared to last April.

Order data varied significantly across different industrial sectors. Machinery and equipment manufacturing bookings fell 6.2% month-over-month in April. Miscellaneous vehicle construction, including ships, trains, aircraft, spacecraft, and military vehicles plummeted 34%. Destatis note that the negative numbers in these sectors had a very influential effect on the overall statistics.

New orders in consumer goods fell 2.5% while new orders in capital goods fell by 1.7%. Electrical equipment and motor vehicles however, saw gains of 12% and 2.4%.

Domestic orders were up slightly by 1.6%, while foreign orders fell by 1.8%.

Experts say the decline in manufacturing orders was due to elevated prices and monetary tightening, both of which weighed on demand. Having registered two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, Germany is now officially in a recession.

The nation’s Economy Ministry has noted that the country’s “export-oriented economy is suffering particularly from the still weak global economy and the decline in orders from the euro area.”

Economists at Commerzbank have pointed out that the there may be enough orders existing in the current order backlog to sustain German industry “for a few months.” However they went on to say that given the lack of new orders being received, German industrial activity is likely to see “a significant decline” during the third and fourth quarter of the year.