DUBAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates central bank said on Thursday it was raising interest rates on its certificates of deposit, its main policy instrument, by 25 basis points.

The announcement came after the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter point and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017.

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia) ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com; +9715 6681 7277; Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))