Answer:
In the long run, the price of STEEM depends on how much value is created per newly minted STEEM. Currently, there is a huge element of speculation to it, as with all cryptocurrencies, which accounts for the valuation of the token. But in the long run, the price of the token will match the value created per token.
The fact that STEEM has an official inflation rate about twice that of Bitcoin means that it can potentially be distributed to a lot of people. It is important to distribute the token far and wide because Steem’s consensus mechanism is Proof-of-Stake and decentralizing stake is important for the security of the chain. From that perspective, the relatively high rate of inflation is a good thing.