The fall in June inflation figures announced today by the Office for National Statistics is partly due to businesses cutting prices with retailers bringing forward summer sales, say business leaders.

Will Rogers, policy adviser at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCI) said:  "Early sales will mean that businesses will make smaller profits. There is only a limited amount of time that retailers will be able to sustain discounted prices. 

"The economy is still very fragile and realistically to meet the recovery head on, businesses will have to increase their profit margin.

"We would therefore urge the government to keep interest rates static for the time being, which will give business more time to recover."