Inflation remained at 2.8 per cent in the year to May when many experts widely predicted a rise, and unemployment fell to 4.9 per cent from five per cent. It comes on the back of the announcement of a deal in the Middle East which has seen oil prices starting to fall.

Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said firms across the region had been blighted by uncertainty over many years and were looking for a stable platform from which to grow.

He said: “At the turn of the year there were signs, after so many years of uncertainty, of some green shoots for businesses – but that quickly turned to further unpredictability, again triggered by global events.

“The overall economic growth figure held up well up until the latest set of figures which showed that there was a dip in the monthly GDP numbers.

“So, the fact that a deal has been struck which will see the Strait of Hormuz opened and start to free up the global economy will be a relief to businesses right across our region. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed that the deal holds.

“On top of that, inflation remaining at 2.8 per cent and not rising – as many had forecast – will also be welcomed by companies who are grateful for any sign of positive news.

“And the latest unemployment figures have seen a slight drop to 4.9 per cent, which is a step in the right direction but our colleagues at the British Chambers of Commerce expect this to rise again this year on the back of a fall in vacancies.

“We know from our own conversations and research that there are some sectors and individual businesses that are under real pressure from the cost of doing business and a host of other issues and it’s vitally important that the Chancellor’s Budget later this year recognises that.”