Inflation has surged to its highest level in almost three years as borrowers brace for a potential third consecutive interest rate hike to start the year.New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released this morning showed the consumer price index rose 4.6 per cent over the 12 months to March, up from 3.7 per cent in February.While that was slightly lower than economists' expectations, it remains far higher than the Reserve Bank's target band of 2-3 per cent, and