Oil prices fell on Friday, dragged from earlier gains on news Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been wounded and the stronger dollar.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Gaddafi has likely left the capital Tripoli and has most likely been wounded, though a Libyan government spokesman denied the claim. Conflict in the OPEC nation has slashed exports, helping to support prices this year.

Pressure on prices also came as the euro fell against the U.S. dollar, which investors viewed as safer due to global economic uncertainty.

The report that Gaddafi has been wounded has led to the latest sell-off, which came as the dollar strengthened, said Andy Lebow, broker at MF Global in New York.

Oil rose earlier after data showed big rises in the German and French economies pushed growth in the euro zone well above forecasts in the first quarter, boosting the euro against the dollar.

Brent crude fell 25 cents to trade $112.73 a barrel at 11:58 a.m. EDT after hitting as high as $114.92 earlier. U.S. crude fell 83 cents to $98.14 a barrel.

(Reporting by Matthew Robinson and Gene Ramos; Christopher Johnson in London; Manash Goswami and Randy Fabi in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)

Libya