STEEM is up, but so is (almost) everything else in the crypto world right now. I'm by no means an expert on crypto either, but I think you're right to question how the supply and demand factor in with regard to STEEM's inflation. The STEEM supply is constantly growing due to it's inflationary mechanism... if demand isn't growing at least at this rate it would seem logical that prices should be decreasing. Does this mean that the demand has grown some? And if so, is it new users? Or is it just the current steem-folk buying up more? Could be both... but who knows?! Your guess is as good as mine! 😎 ✌️
Yes, I agree with all that and it could certainly be the case that traders/speculators have helped push altcoins up with BTC.