KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves eased to $17.64 billion in the week ending on April 2, from a record $17.95 billion the previous week, a senior State Bank official said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $14.26 billion from $14.54 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks eased to $3.38 billion from $3.41 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin. "The decline in reserves during the week is due to scheduled debt repayments," said Wasimuddin. Pakistan's forex reserves have grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds as well as record inflow of remittances. Remittances rose by 20pc to $6.96 billion in the first eight months of the 2010/11 (July-June) fiscal year, compared to the same period the previous year.