UK-based Cotton Outlook has raised its forecast for global output in 2017-18 (Aug-Jul) to 25.50 mln tn from 24.95 mln tn projected in July. Despite the damage sustained in South Texas during the past week, the figure for US has been raised by 326,000 tn from July. Estimates for China and India have also been revised upwards. Cotton Outlook publishes news and indices of the global cotton market and prices. The agency has also increased its estimates for global cotton consumption during the year, to 24.91 mln tn from 24.67 mln tn in the previous month. Consequently, global stock levels are now expected to rise to 589,000 tn, compared with a forecast of 282,000 tn in July.