The Mexican peso is surging

The Mexican peso is surging.

The currency is up by 2.0% at 18.6355 per dollar as of 12:06 p.m. ET.

The peso took off in overnight trade after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress on Sunday that a review of new emails related to the bureau’s investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server had not yielded any reason for charges against the Democratic presidential nominee.

Given that Republican candidate Donald Trump’s protectionist platformcould have negative repercussions for the Mexican economy, the currency has become something of a gaugeof his prospects over the past couple of months of the campaign.

The peso has zigzaggedaround last week, swingingon various poll results.

As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 12:06 p.m. ET:

The US dollar index also strengthened after Comey's announcement, and is up by 0.7% at 97.77. Separately, it's a quiet day for data, with only consumer credit out at 3 p.m. ET. The Japanese yen is down by 1.4% at 104.56 per dollar. The latest data out of Japan showed that labor cash earnings rose by 0.2% year-over-year in September, following a stagnant reading in August. "The upshot is that the tight labor market has yet to generate noticeable cost pressures," wrote Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics, in a note.The British pound is down by 1.0% at 1.2392 against the dollar. Separately, the latest Halifax House Price Index came in at up 5.2% year-over-year in October, above expectations of a 4.8% gain. The euro is down by 0.9% at 1.1035 against the dollar. Data out Monday showed that retail sales fell by 0.2% month-over-month in September, better than the estimated drop of 0.3%. The Russian ruble is weaker by 0.3% at 63.7981 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is little changed around $45.63 per dollar.