The Fed on Wednesday will release the minutes from its most recent meeting, with investors looking for any sign of discussions around moderating the pace of interest rate hikes.
Nagging recession and higher interest rate worries also rattled European markets, and the pound tumbled as Britain hoped to put its disastrous recent fiscal experiment behind it with a more austere-looking budget.
Republicans made modest gains in the midterms but Democrats performed better than expected, as control of the Senate hinged on three races that remained too close to call.
The dollar index - which gauges the greenback against a basket of six counterparts that includes the yen, euro and sterling - eased 0.14% to 111.33, but still not far below Tuesday's high of 111.78, which was the strongest level since Oct. 25.