If you check the Moodle.org download page and then the “Progress towards 1.9.9” you’ll see that 100% of the bug fixes and issues have been either resolved or closed in 1.9.8.
No word on the release (I think I’d rather the focus remain on 2.0) but expect 1.9.9 in the near future.
For more information visit: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL/fixforversion/10405
For more information about the development traffic (releases and updates to the Moodle code) check out http://blog.mudrak.name/ and follow @mudrd8mz for the most updated info.