The pace of further interest rate hikes may speed up if the jobs market continues to improve, according to the minutes of the December meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, cited by rttnews.

At the December 13-14 meeting, the FOMC raised interest rates for only the second time in a decade by a quarter-percentage point to 0.50%-0.75%, with policy makers also predicting two or three additional rate hikes in 2017

However, "A number of risks" might call for "different path" than present course of gradual rate hikes, the minutes revealed Wednesday.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% in December. It is feared that a moved below 4.5% could spur inflation to rise faster than the Fed currently projects.

"Many" FOMC members noted the risk "sizable undershooting" of the jobless rate "had increased somewhat and that the Federal Open Market Committee might need to raise the federal funds rate more quickly than currently anticipated to limit the degree of undershooting and stem a potential buildup of inflationary pressures," according to the minutes.