On 13 July 2007, the Zimbabwean government said that it had temporarily stopped publishing (official) inflation figures, a move that observers said was meant to draw attention away from "runaway inflation which has come to symbolise the country's unprecedented economic meltdown".[38][39] In 2008, the inflation rate accelerated dramatically, from a rate in January of over 100,000%[40] to an estimated rate of over 1,000,000% by May,[41][42] and nearly 250,000,000% in July.[43] As predicted by the quantity theory of money, this hyperinflation was linked to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's choice to increase the money supply.[citation needed]