(The opinions expressed in this article represent the views of PolishedPrices,an independent news and price list provider to the diamond industry and should not be seen as reflecting the Views of Reuters)

Polished diamond prices remained weak and volumes low as the markets slowly returned to normal trading after the summer break.

The main PolishedPrices index opened down 2.3 percent from the previous week on Monday at 161.6 points. The overall index is currently 27.4 percent above its level of this time last year, and has gained 23.0 percent since the start of theyear.

The was general weakness across the board, with only Commercial 1.0 carats showing gains over the past week.

The main weakness came from the Mixed 0.5 carat range, which slumped 10.3 percent.