Cuban national flags flutter in the wind on a rooftop in Havana, November 8. Cuba's booming economy is said to be boosted by US$ 3billion of foreign exchange earnings in 2006. - Reuters

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters):

Cuba's foreign-ex-change earnings swelled by some US$3 billion this year due mainly to a jump in service exports, a government source with access to trade data said on Wednesday.

The communist-run country's balance of payments will be in the black for the third year running as a result, he said, without saying by how much.

"Increased nickel prices and pharmaceutical exports resulted in more than a US$500 million increase over last year's US$2 billion in exports, and service revenues jumped by over US$2.5 billion to around US$7.5 billion," he told Reuters, asking his name not be used.

Cuba apparently has spent most of the increased revenue on infrastructure and machinery. This includes US$1 billion on an energy grid and hundreds of millions of dollars on waterworks and transportation.