Israel’s foreign currency reserves fell again.

The reserves fell $135 million last month as the government struggled to meet repayments on loans, the Bank of Israel said. Reserves now stand at $2.2 billion, far below the “red line” of $3 billion regarded by economists as a minimum working level. Bank of Israel officials urged the government to seek deferments on long-term loan repayments or face the prospect of foreign reserves running out by the end of the year. Last month’s figure was less than half that in January, when reserves fell $282 million. In the next few months, Israel is scheduled to pay $7.7 billion in domestic and foreign debt servicing. Its total foreign debt now stands at $24 billion.